Institutions and operators, together, to look at the future of digital healthcare in Italy. The event “Ultrafast Networks to enable Digital Healthcare” was held on September 25th at the Policlinico di Bari, the first healthcare facility in the country connected via ultra-broadband of the PNRR.
L’aactivation of ultra-fast networks by Vodafone Italia at the Bari Polyclinicwhich operates within the Regional and National Health Service and is home to the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the University of Bari, was part of the work envisaged by the Connected Health Plan, one of the five operational plans of Investment 3 “Ultra-fast and 5G networks” and is part of the public intervention plans of the Italian Strategy for Ultra Broadband, financed and promoted by the Department for digital transformation of the Presidency of the Council thanks to the funds of the PNRR financed by the European Union – NextGenerationEU, implemented by Infratel Italia, and awarded to Vodafone Italia, in synergy with the Puglia Region and the regional in-house company InnovaPuglia.
The objective of the Connected Health Plan is to provide ultra-broadband connectivity services to public health service facilities across the country.
The Plan is divided into eight Lots and provides for a total investment of approximately 315 million euros. Access to high-performance connections will allow healthcare facilities to enable a series of innovative digital services, thus supporting the transformation of healthcare services for the benefit of society.
The event was attended by the General Director of the Bari Polyclinic Giovanni Migliorethe Health Councilor of the Puglia Region Rocco Palesethe Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council with responsibility for innovation Alessio Buttithe Undersecretary of State for Health Marcello Gemmatothe CEO of Infratel Italia Marco Bellezza e Lorenzo ForinaChief Commercial Officer of Vodafone Italia.
“Ultra-broadband connectivity plays a crucial role in accompanying the full digitalisation of healthcare facilities and improving the accessibility and quality of medical care through the use of new technologiesand – he declared Lorenzo Forina, Chief Commercial Officer of Vodafone Italia –. In our role as enablers of digital services, we want to encourage the creation of new models in which technologies can bridge the gap between needs and resources, combining care needs with those of greater efficiency at all levels. A public-private collaboration that will allow us to accelerate the adoption of digital solutions in thousands of other facilities in the area at the service of patient experience and health.”
The case studies
In the group photo, from left: Lorenzo Forina, Chief Commercial Officer of Vodafone Italia, Giovanni Migliore General Director of the Polyclinic of Bari, Councilor for Health of the Puglia Region Rocco Palese, Undersecretary to the Presidency of the Council with responsibility for innovation Alessio Butti,
Undersecretary of State for Health Marcello Gemmato, the CEO of Infratel Italia Marco Bellezza
During the event at the Bari Polyclinic, Vodafone created two demo for as many use cases to show how ultra-broadband can enable technologies and platforms to encourage and accelerate the digitalisation of hospitals and the spread of telemedicine with the aim of bringing healthcare ever closer to the needs of the population in the area.
In particular, a system was presented remote proctoring, which offers remote support to the doctor in the operating room, based on ultra-wideband connectivity and augmented reality software. The solution, developed by Artiness with the support of Vodafone Italia, allows you to view in augmented reality both the medical signals coming from the operating room and a 3D model of the specific patient’s organ, making the solution also useful for training purposes. The second use case created together with LIFE consists of a T-shirt based solution smart wearable with sensors that detect physiological parameters in real time, allowing the doctor to monitor the patient’s health status in real time during his daily activities.