Second Sciana meeting ends with discussion on future projects

The second meeting of the 2017 Sciana group reached a conclusion on Sunday with members drawing up plans for further collaboration.

The group, reacquainted and recharged to innovate solutions for 21st-century health care, met on Saturday afternoon to review their experience and plan the next steps forward.

Discussing the next meeting's theme, members agreed behavioural economics and the well-being economy could be a good conjunction to explore. The group also discussed potential speakers to invite to future Sciana events.

One member suggested that as the group was now halfway through its meetings, members should ask themselves what meaningful change they want to make in their countries or Europe.

Making a concrete contribution to health care policies in Europe resonated with many members. Together they discussed several personal projects to be undertaken before their third meeting in June.

Three members are planning a study trip to Israel to learn more about Clalit, a health maintenance organisation which runs medical centres, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies and more. Meanwhile, another study trip to the United States is also being planned, which could allow members to visit innovative health hubs.   

Members are set to collaborate in other ways, too. Two members are organising a health care hackathon in Switzerland and have asked the 2017 group for contacts to expand its growth.

Discussions at this year’s meeting have also inspired two other members to begin developing ideas on how to better spread health care innovation. They asked their colleagues for recommendations for marketing companies that could help them with this mission.

German members of the 2017 Sciana group are arranging a meeting in Göttingen to continue developing their ideas for the future of health care in Europe. The invitation remains open to other members of the Sciana network.

One topic repeatedly discussed during the second meeting was how health care providers could cater for ageing populations, chronic illnesses and an increased dependency on care services. Linked to this, two members were eager to collaborate and exchange program ideas around the topic of dementia.

It was reaffirmed that Sciana was able to provide members bursaries for site visits and collaborative projects in between meetings.

These ideas will be considered ahead of the third meeting in June, which will coincide with the first meeting of the 2018 Sciana group.