Former Secretary General of Cittadinanzattiva and Head of the Technical Secretariat of the Minister of Health Speranza with the Draghi government, Antonio Gaudioso begins his collaboration as Senior Advisor for the evolution of the Apoteca Natura pharmacy network. A note underlines how “thanks to the experience and expertise gained in the sector, both in the associative field and at high institutional levels, the entry of Gaudioso on the board of Apoteca Natura constitutes a further step for the strengthening and growth of the brand ”.
Apoteca Natura is a international network that has over 1200 independent affiliated pharmacies in Italy, Spain and Portugal and one of its objectives is to make the pharmacy evolve within the healthcare supply chain, expanding the services offered in the pharmacy to people and to industry. “From a simple place of “distribution of medicines” to a real “Health Center” (hence the name of the most advanced format of the network): a pharmacy of services that puts the person at the center in his conscious health journey through the ‘listening and prevention, from the point of view of a greener pharmacy” underlines the note.
«We believe in a pharmacy model that is increasingly integrated into the healthcare supply chain and capable of evolving its social and healthcare role. In the current context, the pharmacy has great growth opportunities in this direction, especially after opening up to new services, such as vaccines delivered during the pandemic period. In this path, however, there is a need for an increasingly specific focus and dedicated professionalism» he says Massimo Mercati, CEO of Apoteca Natura. “Antonio Gaudioso’s high-profile experience in the health and civic participation sector will allow our network to grow both in the development of social and health services in synergy with other operators in the health sector at a local level, and for the professional growth of pharmacists in the context of services for the prevention and improvement of therapeutic adherence. With him, and together with Cittadinanzattiva, Federfarma, Assofarm, Fofi and Utifar, we already set up the first Civic Audit in Pharmacies a few years ago and on this path we will continue to work together with the institutions and trade associations to increasingly enhance the role of pharmacies alongside citizens”.
Antonio Gaudioso who has collaborated on health issues with the Patients’ Rights Tribunal and with the European Active Citizenship Network, contributed to the drafting of the European Patients’ Rights Charter and is one of the founding members of the Inequality Diversity Forum as well as among the promoters of the Festival of Participation. He is currently vice president of the Health City Institute, board member of the Foundation for Personalized Medicine. «For me it is a pleasure to have the opportunity to collaborate with Apoteca Natura because I have always been convinced that community pharmacies have a fundamental role in providing information and services to citizens, starting from the enhancement of the professional skills of pharmacists», says Antonio Gaudioso. «The mission of the pharmacy will be increasingly important, even more so in this historical context, in the organization of local services, in guaranteeing ever greater personalization of services, and in responding to the main and fundamental needs of care. The relationship of esteem that binds me to the Mercati family and the appreciation for the work of Apoteca Natura in recent years have made my choice to work together a natural one».