The Free State of Saxony hosted from 5th to 7th February the fifth interregional workshop of the TITTAN project, attended by high-level representatives of European partner regions and experts from the healthcare sector. The workshop took place in Dresden and Leipzig and was organized by Healthy Saxony. The exchange, comparison and implementation of good practices in healthcare are the main goals of the research project.
Around 30 participants from the seven European partners were welcomed at University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus Dresden by Martin Strunden, Head of Department 35 "Health industry, preventive healthcare and telematics" of the State Ministry of Social Affairs and Consumer Protection and by Prof. Michael Albrecht, Chief Medical Director of the Dresden University Hospital. "The exchange of experience between European health regions is essential for the sustainable development of cutting-edge medicine in the partner regions. The association has managed to raise positive awareness for Saxony at Europan level", stated Prof. Michael Albrecht, who is also first CEO of the association Healthy Saxony.
The framework for the three-day workshop in Leipzig and Dresden is the thematic area "Active citizens for healthy ageing". At the workshop some best practices from the different European regions were presented, discussed and linked with each other. The aim of the above mentioned thematic area is to raise awareness about the uptake of innovation within the healthcare sector and its integration into ageing and health management. Above all, the use of new technologies and prevention approaches, the inclusion of new organization models and networking among patients, doctors, hospitals and other medical providers via telemedical projects share this common goal. As a result, the focus is on improving the quality of life and the adequate care of elderly.
The results of the workshop will be jointly evaluated and it will be determined how the regions can benefit from them. The evaluation will result in recommendations for action and suggestions for improvement concerning the healthy policy.
During the visit to the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology in Leipzig, which was performed on the second workshop day, Dr. Dirk Kuhlmeier (leader of the working group for nanotechnology) introduced Point-of-Care-Diagnostics and the research areas of the Institute. Additionally, Hospital St. Georg gGmbH Leipzig informed about the progress in the diagnosis of rare inborn errors of the immune system.
The TITTAN workshop ended with a visit to the Proton Treatment Centre of the Dresden University Hospital. During the workshop the European partners and experts gained a deep insight into the innovations and plans of the Saxon healthcare sector and the health industry of the different European partners. On the other side, the representatives of the Saxon health industry also benefit from the innovative concepts of other European regions.
