Twenty-four candidates compete for the Innoba Award in osteoarthritis management and healthcare quality
The aim of this contest, sponsored by SECA and Bioibérica Farma, is to grant recognition to innovative projects which contribute to improvements in management and healthcare to osteoarthritis patients The awards ceremony will take place on November 8, 2012 in Bilbao, during the SECA annual conference
Barcelona, October 10, 2012. Twenty four candidates compete for the 1st edition Innoba Award in osteoarthritis management and healthcare quality. These prizes are hosted by the Spanish Society of Healthcare Quality (Sociedad Española de Calidad Asistencial, SECA) and by Bioibérica Farma. These awards aim to give recognition to projects contributing to improvements in disease management and healthcare quality of osteoarthritis patients, both in the field of primary care and hospital care.
Among the several initiatives submitted, there are healthcare education and early detection programs in osteoarthritis, utilization of new techniques and computer tools, organization of multidisciplinary teams and specialized units, rehabilitation and psychological support programs and treatment protocols or process optimization. We are very satisfied with the number of candidates providing submissions to the first edition of the Innoba Awards. Most of them are local initiatives, many of them ground-breaking projects pushed forward by healthcare professionals who believe in improving the life quality of their patients, declared Dr. Manel Santiñá, general secretary of the SECA.
Another aspect worth noting is the large variety of professionals competing for the awards-we have trauma specialists, rheumatologists, rehabilitators, gynecologists, nurses, surgeons and primary care physicians, among others. They have submitted their candidacies on their own, or in representation of their healthcare centers. Regarding this, Mr. Josep Escaich, Bioibéricas chief executive, said this broad range of expertise gives us a glimpse of the true reach of osteoarthritis and its social and economic impact. We must stop considering it a minor disease and work together to improve its management and achieve better life quality for patients.
The award jury will assess the different submissions, taking into account their ability to innovate, their future reach, results archived or that can be achieved and overall consistency. The prize-giving ceremony of the 1st Innoba Awards will be held on November 8, 2012 at the Euskalduna Palace, Bilbao, during the 30th Congress of the Spanish Society of Quality in Healthcare. The conference will feature Dr. Santiago Niño Becerra, professor in Economic Structures at the IQS School of Economy and also at the Ramon Llull University (Barcelona), who will give us his view on the current situation of healthcare and economic perspectives in the near future.
Osteoarthritis World day
Next Friday, October 12, will be held Osteoarthritis world day. This disease affects more than seven million Spaniards and costs the national administration €4,700 million every year. Of this expenditure, only 5% corresponds to drugs. Currently, it is the most common joint disease, and the number of patients is expected to double within the next several years due to the aging population.
Furthermore, osteoarthritis causes 30% of work-related health conditions, both permanent and temporary, and it is also the cause of 35% of all primary healthcare visits. In spite of this, it is not considered a major disease at the social, medical or economic levels. Since long ago, osteoarthritis has been considered an inevitable condition associated with aging and physical wear and tear. Far from it: this disease can affect young sportspeople, workers, menopausal women, overweight and retired people, among others, and can seriously hamper their life quality.
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About SECA
The Spanish Society of Quality in Healthcare (SECA) it is a multidisciplinary scientific society whose mission is to encourage and facilitate permanent improvement in healthcare quality.
Its primary goal is fomenting quality culture - to do so, they focus their efforts on gaining-over and engaging professionals from all fields of expertise: scientific societies, professional associations and all kinds of professional organizations, to integrate quality improvements into their daily practice and be able to transfer that knowledge to their patients. Moreover, another of their objectives is to collaborate with senior political officials and managers as without their collaboration, the implementation of durable quality programs in sanitary centers would be impossible.
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About Bioibérica Farma
Prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoarthritis: these are the three major pillars of Bioibérica Farmas work, a Spanish chemical and pharmaceutical company founded in 1975 that specializes in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Bioibérica Farmas work focuses on the research and development of efficient drugs against that disease. Also, over the last few years, Bioibérica Farma has been committed to the research of personalized medicine, that is, in the development of products that profit from the genetic and/or environmental data of a given patient to diagnose, prevent or treat clinical conditions. At the social level, Bioiberica Farmas aims are to improve the life quality of osteoarthritis patients by reducing the disease overall costs.
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