On 25 October 2018 the 6th Conference of the Health Services in Chronic Disease Research Network (REDISSEC) took place in the Ernest Lluch Hall at the Carlos III Health Institute.

The conference revolved around research in implementation in the context of healthcare. The aim is to work with healthcare decision-makers to work out how to bridge the gap between scientific evidence and implementation of healthcare policies and programmes. The conference was complemented by two key topics in the study of chronic diseases: multimorbidity and how to handle it, and therapeutic adherence in clinical practice. Lastly, as a new feature, the conference ended with a workshop about how to develop implementation studies. It was led by researcher Laura Damschroder, from the VA Ann Arbor Center for Clinical Management Research in the US.

The welcome and opening session was kickstarted by Dr José Mara Quintana López, the network’s Scientific Coordinator, and Head of Barrualde–Galdakao IHO Research Unit. Ane Fullaondo, Head of R&D Coordination at Kronikgune, presented “Experiencia de implementación en Euskadi: la ruta del paciente pluripatológico” (Implementation Experience in the Basque Country: the Multimorbid Patient Route).

REDISSEC is built around three major pillars: the challenge of managing chronicity; the need to have more and better information; and the duty of increasing the research capacity in healthcare services and policies in Spain. It consists of 14 research teams and 3 clinical teams from 8 autonomous regions. In total, over 150 researchers from different bodies, including hospitals as well as primary care centres, technology assessment agencies or regional healthcare departments make up this network.

The network aims to develop excellence in research and innovation fields to provide solid relevant evidence on the best policies, practices and organisational models, with the aim of helping to improve healthcare for chronic patients in Spain.

For further information on the full programme, please visit REDISSEC official website: https://www.redissec.com/es/agenda/reuniones/vi-jornada-redissec-estrategias-para-el-manejo-de-la-cronicidad.html