Two Eye Clinics Among 77 Reference Sites of the European Commission

 

Two eye clinics have been recognised in the 2019 Reference Site Call of the European Commission for their long-term commitment in the B3 Action Group on Integrated Care of the EIP AHA and in particular their activities in digital health care:

Clinica Oculistica, San Martino Hospital, Genova, Italy, is a newcomer to the Reference Sites network and has gained two star status for developing a digital neonatal eye screening database; the I-macula web, a digital clinical platform for degenerative and vascular disorders of the macula for the follow-up of patients in a real-life settings; and a new algorithm for its long-term diabetic retinopathy screening programme.

Tays Eye Center, University Hospital, Tampere, Finland, has gained three star status for spearheading ACES (Automation in Care and Evaluation of System) evaluates the implementation of a resource allocation strategy (P5SE) through automated real world data. In 2016 Tays gained one star Reference Site status for developing and implementing P5SE in the regional eye health reforms.

Reference sites are expected to be actively engaged in the scaling up/replicability process of digital transformation by submitting good practices to the EIP on AHA Repository of Innovative Practices. Both Tays Eye Centre and Clinica Oculistica see opportunities within this framework for increasing awareness about eye diseases, sharing good practices and building cross border collaboration in eye health services. The two organisations are probably the smallest entities among the 77 regional and local organisations featuring whole municipalities and regional health ministries.

What are Reference Sites?
Reference Sites are inspirational ecosystems with a holistic approach in their commitment to deliver creative and workable solutions for active and healthy ageing. The Sites are regions, cities, integrated hospitals or care organisations which have implemented innovative transferable strategies which address chronic diseases across the EU. The award of Reference Site status 1,2,3 or 4 stars is based on a demonstrable capacity at a regional and local level for “Quadruple Helix”, a partnership model bringing together stakeholders from government/health authorities, academia, industry and civil society.