The digital transformation of Primary and Community Care will be the theme that kicks off the 10th TIC Salut i Social R+D+I Conference

The first session will be held on 23 September, with the final one on October 21

The major changes undergone by Community Primary Care as a result of the emergence of digital technologies, which have become especially apparent in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, is the theme of the webinar that will mark the start of the 10th TIC Salut i Social R&D&I Conference. Under the title “Digital transformation in the health and social system in face of the pandemic”, the conference used to be attended in person at the UVic has this year been moved online, offering a programme consisting of four webinars, from 23 September to 21 October.

According to the coordinator of the Centre for Health and Social Care Research (CESS), Marina Geli, “the Catalan health system, and especially Primary and Community Care, have long since begun a process of transformation. However, the health crisis has accelerated the incorporation of improvements in teleconsultation, teleworking and in relation to different levels of care. This has made it possible to safely meet the needs of the population in very difficult times. But what will the result of it all be?”.

This first session, scheduled for 23 September at 4 pm, will feature the family doctor of the Catalan Health Institute, Marta Sagarra, and the family doctor of the Centelles primary care centre, director general of the EBA Centelles and ACEBA ICT coordinator, Sílvia Narejos. The webinar will be moderated by family doctors Laura Camps and Josep Vidal.

Focusing on hospital care

The second webinar, scheduled for 7 October at 4 p.m., will focus on digital transformation in the field of hospital care. “There is no doubt that hospitals have had to take a leap forward towards new ways of working thanks to teleworking and telemedicine, which have allowed healthcare professionals to examine and monitor patients remotely. The session will discuss the criteria used to determine which activities should continue to be carried out in person and which should not”, says the director of the TIC Salut Foundation, Josuè Sallent. Two experts in the field will be taking part, the head of Information Systems at Althaia, Pere Guerrero, and the neuroradiologist and professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the UVic-UCC and the leading quality expert from the Diagnostic Imaging Service of the Vic Hospital Consortium, Marta Serrallonga. The debate will be moderated by the Director of Research and Innovation of UManresa, Xavier Gironès, and the Director of Knowledge Transfer of the Vic Hospital Consortium, pulmonologist and professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Núria Roger.

The digital transformation of social services

The third webinar “Social Services and the use of digital tools” will take place on 14 October at 4 pm and will discuss the role of technology in the process of adaptation undergone by social care services, supported mostly by the public authorities and third sector entities to remain essential services. The head of the Management Office of the Municipal Institute of Social Services of Barcelona City Council, Marta Fabà, will explain the role that digital tools have played in the management of the crisis in municipal social services, both in relation to the reorganization of teams and ways of working and in the provision of services. She will be joined by the research manager and coordinator of the ESADE-PwC Social Leadership Programme of the Institute for Social Innovation, Maria Sureda. The moderators will be the solution manager of the ICT Department of the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Families, Carles Julbe, and the executive director of the Social Services Chair at UVic-UCC, Manu Vidal-Ribas.

Ethics and digital transformation in research

Finally, the conference will conclude with a webinar on “Ethics, Data Protection and Digital Transformation in the area of research”, on 21 October at 4 pm, with the participation of the director of the Bioethics Chair at the UVic-UCC – Grífols Foundation, Núria Terribas, and the head of research at the Health Data Protection Office (DPD), Míriam Méndez. A representative of the company Seidor will also give a talk on data protection and cybersecurity. The starting point of the discussion will be the increase in recent years of projects involving technological tools to obtain results and the fact that “health research must incorporate products that allow researchers and scientists to calibrate the parameters in which they can carry out their projects”, says Geli. The session will be moderated by Maria José Campo and Lluís Sabaté from the Health Data Protection Office.

You can register to view the seminars for free at the conference website www.jornadesrdi.cat. To enrich the debate, questions and comments can be sent to the speakers in advance.

About the conference

The TIC Salut i Social R&D&I Conference is co-organized by the University of Vic – Central University of Catalonia (UVic-UCC) through the ICT and Health Chair and Social Services Chair, under the auspices of the Centre for Health and Social Care Research (CESS), and the TIC Salut Social Foundation, with technological support from , which sponsors the event.Seidor

The programme is aimed at professionals and researchers from different disciplines (health, social, technology, business, etc.) interested in the fields of ICT, Health and Social care, entrepreneurs and companies in these same sectors, CEOs and technicians at health care organizations and university, high school and vocational training students.

Along with the UVic-UCC and the TIC Salut Social Foundation, the conferences are co-organized by the Vic Hospital Consortium, the Catalan Health Institute, the Santa Creu de Vic Hospital Foundation, the EBA Vic, the EBA Centelles, Althaia Foundation and FORES.

Organizing entities:

With support from: