The pandemic has put the health sector at the centre in many respects and has given it a new relevance. It has also brought to the table issues such as redefining industrialisation and innovation, an issue that centered the UnConference in 2021, and digital transformation, which has been the focus of debate at this year's edition, held at La Salle Campus Barcelona.
This digital transformation, forcibly accelerated in some aspects during the pandemic, implies a profound evolution: of culture, of the way of working and on learning how to use the available information sources and tools. Are we ready for this evolution? What steps do we need to take? What are the obstacles we may encounter? These are questions that Nuria Pastor, vice-president of CataloniaBio & HealthTech and CEO of HumanITcare; and Joan Puig, president of CataloniaBio & HealthTech and CEO of Kymos, shared with the attendees at the presentation of the conference. The UnConference, then, reflected on these issues in the format of open debate sessions.
In the main session, a round table reviewed different approaches and experiences at international level with Marco Wendel, CEO of Medical Valley Digital Health Application Center; Anna Karasek, Director of Business Solutions Consulting at Veeva Systems; Francesca Wuttke, founder and CEO of Nen; Anaïs Le Corvec, Executive Director of the Council of European BioRegions. Moderating the conversation, Albert Barberà, Director of the Hub of Advanced Therapies and Technological Platforms of VHIR.
Issues such as the necessary cultural change (for patients, clinicians, and health managers), the new needs for access to information, the digitisation of this information, how to achieve a hybrid system (in person and digitised), the experience of patients and professionals… were openly debated. Concepts such as digital adoption, scepticism, incorporation of innovations into health systems, permeability between the different levels of health care, attracting talent in technology to make change possible in the health sector, the need to define digitalisation, new possibilities, cost limitations, coordination, etc. were also presented. In short, emphasising that there are many aspects involved in the digital transformation and that joint work is necessary.
This joint work was, precisely, the second part of the day. In several parallel sessions, attendees discussed and worked on the levers that should drive cultural and organisational change: strengthening the public health system, promoting new digital technologies to patients and health professionals, and promoting an industrial sector in line with the current challenges that the health sector needs.
Leading these sessions were Josep Miquel Piqué, Head of Economic Zones at Barcelona Activa; Victor Escobar, Executive Director of Renishaw Ibérica; Jordi Piera, Director of Digital Health Strategy at CatSalut; and Jordi Cruz, member of the Board of the Spanish Federation of Rare Diseases.
The UnConference 2022 has had the collaboration of La Salle and the support of ACCIÓ.
What Is an UnConference?
UnConference is a day of debates and discussions on the future of healthcare solutions promoted by CataloniaBioHT since 2018. The event aims to raise awareness of, and offer perspectives and insight into the sector’s needs and opportunities, as well as the best way to tackle them.
Following the unconference methodology, this event doesn’t include presentations and conferences, but rather various debate spaces where significant figures from science, business, patients or society are invited to propose topics for joint reflection. Therefore, the debates are based on the opinions and knowledge of the participants (entrepreneurs, CEOs, CSOs and executives at pharmaceutical, biomedical and digital health companies).
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