Editorial Staff – The event “The impact of technological innovation on the safety of care: The POR-FESR experience”, held in recent days in Salerno, has concluded successfully. The day, organized by the Italian Association of Clinical Engineers (AIIC) and sponsored by the ASL Salerno, the AOU San Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi d’Aragona, the Order of Engineers of Salerno and the Order of Physicians and Dentists of Salerno, saw an extraordinary participation of over 170 experts, professionals and operators in the healthcare sector. Among those present, numerous clinical engineers, doctors, healthcare administrators and representatives of the main companies in the technological and biomedical sector. The day was characterized by a lively exchange of ideas and knowledge, highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration to improve the quality and safety of healthcare, and concluded with a round table in which (among others) the Vice President of AIIC, Gianluca Giaconiaand Past President, AIIC Lorenzo Leogrande, and from which the importance of continuing to invest in research and development and promoting continuous training for professionals in the sector clearly emerged. Participants at the Salerno event expressed great satisfaction with the day, considering it a valuable opportunity to update on the latest news and to establish useful contacts for future collaborations.
Great satisfaction was expressed at the end of the work by the members of the event’s Organizing Committee. In particular Pasquale Garofalo (Regional Representative and Member of the Board of Directors as well as coordinator of the event), declared that the event “exceeded our expectations. The quality of the interventions and the enthusiasm of the participants demonstrate how vital it is to discuss and promote technological innovation in the healthcare sector. This is the right path to follow: it is essential to continue like this and increasingly ask for support from bodies and institutions, including the political side. Only through a synergy between professionals, public and private bodies and the support of institutions can we guarantee a better future for Italian healthcare”. Garofalo continued: “Our mission is to optimize the financial resources available, with the aim of continuously improving technological innovation for the benefit of patients. To achieve these goals, I warmly invite institutions to take an active part in this path and to create permanent technical tables. These technical tables must have the aim of optimizing financial resources, encouraging the adoption of cutting-edge technologies that can guarantee maximum safety and quality of care. Only with a common vision and a joint effort will we be able to create a more efficient and cutting-edge healthcare system, capable of responding to the challenges of the future and guaranteeing the well-being of our citizens”. For Francesca Perrina (Scientific Manager), “the broad participation and interest shown in the topics covered confirm the need to continue investing in advanced technologies. The event promoted and organized by AIIC was the result of an important commitment, team work, as always happens when an event is successful in its entirety. Rich in interesting ideas and stimuli, it involved a multidisciplinary team of professional figures who, thanks to this occasion, had the opportunity to discuss the important topic of technological innovation for the safety of care. The patient is at the center of every topic: the focus of the clinical engineer in everyday work”. The organizational manager adds Giuliana Faiella: “sharing experiences and best practices was fundamental. We had the opportunity to learn a lot from each other and explore new avenues to improve our daily practice. The event was organized with the aim of illustrating how technological innovations can be included in clinical pathways, taking advantage of the opportunities of regional and European funding. Introducing innovation means appropriately planning acquisitions to improve the safety and quality of care
with equipment equipped with increasingly accurate and automated monitoring and control algorithms, simple and intuitive interfaces. As emerged during the meeting, innovation must be designed and analyzed in all its operational, functional and sustainability dimensions. The clinical engineer turned out to be the key element in supporting the Strategic Management in the implementation of interventions aimed at promoting safety”. To these considerations is also added Angelo Arcolini (Head of the Course Secretariat), who underlines that it was “an enormous satisfaction to see the great participation in the Salerno event. The numbers speak for themselves, with around 170 people present including clinical engineers, supervisors, healthcare professionals and top figures from healthcare companies and professional associations. And in fact the main objective of these events, promoted by the AIIC, is precisely to create new connections between professionals through healthy discussion and to give all clinical engineers the most appropriate professional development tools”.
