SITT launches Spanish/Portuguese cross-border group on digital transformation and transition

19 Ago SITT launches Spanish/Portuguese cross-border group on digital transformation and transition

SITT, the Iberian Society for Telemedicine & Telehealth (national member for Portugal and Spain in the ISfTeH), announces the creation of its T3D Group (Grupo de Trabalho para a Transformação e Transição Digital), which will focus on healthcare transformation and digital transition, looking into cross-border telehealth exchanges of practice, experience and working towards the creation of cross-border conditions for telehealth pilots and services between Spain and Portugal, as a way to explore issues and roadmap EU-wide cross-border telehealth.

The group includes the participation of the full members from SITT, working in over 9 hospitals in Portugal and Spain, and collaborating with stakeholders from the public health, primary care, and academic sector.

The group is working on a Joint Opinion paper about telehealth and the COVID-19 pandemic since technology usage (telehealth) could simultaneously be the bridge, as well as a barrier. This reflection will help to better prepare for the future, as the next few months or al años may still require significant efforts and paradigm shifts, if the battle against COVID-19 is to be won, without losing any of the other health battles.

Simultaneously, by bringing together not just specialists, but also practitioners from larger healthcare providers in both Portugal and Spain, the group can become the space to foster and develop initial cross-border services simultaneously, overcoming complex legal, medical, and organizational barriers.

The group is led by Henrique Martins, former EU eHealth Network co-chair and past president of the SPMS (Shared Services of the Portuguese Ministry of Health), and involves the top leadership of SITT.