Two of the major challenges facing the healthcare innovation sector are time and the process of approving innovative solutions: it is essential for solutions to reach patients as soon as possible, with maximum safety, security and high efficiency.
The Spanish flu pandemic occurred between 1918 and 1920. Doctors then didn’t yet know the causes of infection, while treatment was limited – the first vaccine only became available in the 1940s. In the 21st century, when we have sufficient knowledge and opportunities, when we are able to communicate instantly between one side of the world and the other, the COVID pandemic is still around. How far have we really come since 1918 and how do we progress from here?
It seems as though there’s a huge gap between the existence of technologies and the utilisation of their maximum potential. On the one hand, existing solutions are unavailable to most of the world. On the other hand, huge distrust in existing medical information exists, even in developed countries.
The historical disaster of the Spanish flu led to the emergence of a focus on the importance of international cooperation. It was then that the predecessor to today’s World Health Organization was founded. What do we take away from the current pandemic as a lesson learnt?
Health is a basic human right of the citizens of all countries. However, realising this right is only possible through international cooperation, including with countries that lie beyond the main global centres of knowledge and have no pretence to a monopoly in the health business.
Two of the major challenges facing the healthcare innovation sector are time and the process of approving innovative solutions: it is essential for solutions to reach patients as soon as possible, with maximum safety, security and high efficiency.
During the covid-19 pandemic, the visionaries of Serbia platform created a large number of software and hardware solutions intended for patients and imperilled doctors
During the period of the pandemic, the approval process has been accelerated due to the urgent nature of the situation, but how could we also achieve that in the future? Will an answer to this question come through digitalisation and working with other sciences through a multidisciplinary approach? We hope so.
Patients and citizens increasingly want to be included in deciding on their own course of treatment. It is essential to consider new ways of interacting and restoring trust through open dialogue and communication.
In our local Serbian community, the activities of the Health Tech Lab [Laboratorija zdravstvenih tehnologija] were focused on addressing the aforementioned challenges even before the pandemic.
And during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Visionaries of Serbia platform created a large number of software and hardware solutions intended for patients and imperilled doctors.
Testifying to the claim that an understanding for the importance of investing in biotechnology, research and digitalisation emerged during the pandemic are: (i) the establishment of a centre for genome sequencing at the Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering in Belgrade; (ii) the launch of e-health local portal and forming of a digitalisation strategy; (iii) the initiating of the new Bio4 biotechnology park in Serbia, which will accelerate the development of innovations in biomedical sciences in Serbia and will include related areas like maintaining healthy water, air and food.
