Biosistemak participates in THCS partnership workshop on Strengthening Health Ecosystems
The event, held on 6 and 7 November in Vienna (Austria), highlighted the importance of knowledge exchange to improve health services.
Biosistemak has participated in theWP9 Strengthening Ecosystems Workshop, one of the key areas being addressed in the framework of the THCS (European Partnership on Transforming Health and Care Systems) project.
The event, organised by the University of Tampere (Finland) and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG), was held at its headquarters in Vienna (Austria), and brought together representatives of entities and organisations from different European Member States. These institutions are part of the THCS partnership and are involved in the process of transforming health ecosystems, with the aim of deepening the identification and strengthening of these ecosystems in the field of health and care.
A space for exchange and collaboration
The day began on 6 November with an internal session for THCS partner organisations, focusing on the analysis of innovative approaches to health ecosystems in national, regional and local settings. Project funding and the promotion of ecosystem approaches at regional level were also discussed, with the aim of fostering cross-sectoral collaboration of different organisations and entities in the health care provided to citizens.
In the afternoon, the event was opened to a wider audience (researchers, managers and other relevant actors in the health sector), and value-based business models in the health sector were discussed. The keynote speech by Johan Moyersoen addressed how the availability of health information technologies and data can transform healthcare, offering more personalised and efficient care to individuals. These business models not only benefit patients, but also the various stakeholders involved, from health services and providers to social institutions and the private sector.
One of the highlights for Biosistemak was the presentation of the Basque Health Ecosystem by Maite Zabala, researcher and project manager at the institute. In her speech, she shared the experience of the Basque Country as an example of a transformative ecosystem in the field of health, promoted by the Department of Health and in collaboration with the BIOEF Foundation. The aim of this intervention was to highlight the importance of collaboration between different actors in the sector to improve the quality of services and care for citizens.
Focus on peer learning
On 7 November, the workshop continued with a series of interactive sessions, in which experiences of transformative ecosystems in the Netherlands were presented by Wally Keijzer. Working groups focused on accelerating health systems transformation and knowledge sharing among participants.
In the last part of the event, synergies between the different work packages of the project were explored, especially between WP9 focused on the identification of health ecosystems and WP10 dedicated to knowledge exchange between organizations and entities participating in the partnership. In this sense, it was discussed how the Knowledge Hub could support the work being done in the definition of health ecosystems and vice versa, through communication tools such as podcasts, storytelling and other forms of dissemination.
Future perspectives
The Vienna workshop was a key step in the progress of the THCS project, which is well underway in its second year of implementation. This meeting has strengthened the links between the participating organisations and has laid the foundations for the new phase of collaboration and knowledge exchange activities for the identification of transformative health ecosystems at national, regional and European level. Biosistemak will continue to work to accelerate the transformation of health systems towards more sustainable, integrated and value-centred models.
Find out more about the THCS project.
