Purpose: communicate from a corporate, therapeutic area or product perspective to citizens and patients

Target audience: citizens, patients, patient associations, students of all school grades,

Types and examples: public awareness projects on topics of crucial interest to the national economic system and on specific topics such as rare diseases, disability, etc.; dissemination projects on digital culture in healthcare, education projects on specific digital health topics, wellness and disease awareness projects.

All types of multi-channel communication are included. Examples: video, podcasts and moviemaking, PR and brand storytelling, mobile and apps marketing, insight and market research, data-driven marketing, content marketing, branded experiences and events, search marketing, social media, sponsorship and partner marketing

Some projects described in the categories “Wellness, prevention, quality of life”, “Improving patient care” and “Patient engagement and advocacy” fall into this category when the communicational aspects of the project, developed through social and other digital channels, are prevalent

Purpose: implement telemedicine solutions according to the Ministry of Health guidelines

Target audience: doctors, other healthcare professionals, patients, payors, institutions

Types and examples: all projects using one or more of the different forms of telemedicine (televisit, teleconsultation, telehealth, teleassistance, etc.) for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and monitoring.

Projects that contribute to a better quality of care by ensuring continuity of care, greater effectiveness, efficiency, appropriateness, equity of access to health care (i.e. in rural and remote areas), drug therapy support to improve drug compliance.

Projects that help the patient in the therapeutic process and reduce adverse drug events, and for all other activities where telemedicine plays an important role in improving the quality of care.

Purpose: help the doctor in his/her continuous training and learning of new diagnostic and therapeutic techniques and technologies

Target audience: doctors, both GPs and specialists

Types and examples: projects that use innovative tools (e.g. virtual meetings, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, simulations, big data analysis, metaverse, etc.) to help the doctor in his/her training. In particular, projects that foster the doctor’s understanding of the main digital health tools, improve the doctor’s knowledge of the main diagnostic and therapeutic innovations, optimise the doctor’s adherence to regulations, improve the doctor’s understanding of the socio-economic health impact of his/her decisions, improve the doctor’s skills in his/her therapeutic area and/or the doctors’ soft skills, and foster effective collaboration between GPs and specialists and between doctors and other stakeholders

Purpose: promote effective and efficient treatment of diseases

Target audience: doctors, pharmacists, other healthcare professionals, payors

Types and examples: Projects that exploit digital technology in a broad sense to improve patient care through better identification of diseases, optimisation of diagnosis, setting and follow-up of drug therapy and the use of medical devices. Examples: projects applying artificial intelligence and machine learning to diagnosis and therapy; use of remote monitoring technologies, augmented reality, virtual reality, simulation, 3D printing, blockchain; projects adapting technologies used in other sectors to medical topics, use of advanced therapies, digital medicines, digital therapeutics and all other technologies specifically focused on patient care. Projects promoting the value of a health technology. Collaborative projects between clinicians, payors and patients. Projects aimed at quantifying expenditure budgets at different levels (hospital, local health authority, region, etc.).

Purpose: use digital technologies to improve the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance of a company, or a place of care, or an institution to achieve greater operational efficiency, a better corporate reputation, a greater ability to adapt to the sustainable challenges of the future, and greater investor confidence.

Target audience: company staff, institutions, citizens, patients, associations, environment, health ecosystem

Types and examples: Projects where digital plays a key role in improving a company’s ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) performance. Examples:

• Environmental monitoring and impact reduction: such as energy use management, resource optimisation, emission reduction and pollution monitoring.
• Transparency and communication: using digital channels, such as its website, social media and ESG reporting platforms, to share information regarding its policies, actions and progress on environmental, social and governance issues.
• Involvement of stakeholders, including employees, customers, suppliers and investors, in ESG initiatives through digital forms of interaction
• Social innovation: for example online platforms for crowdfunding, creating partnerships with non-profit organisations or institutions to tackle specific social problems.
• Diversity and inclusion: monitoring of staff diversity, online training on cultural sensitivity and promotion of an inclusive work environment.
• Governance and transparency: projects that facilitate the traceability of decisions, thereby improving accountability and overall corporate governance.
• Reporting and performance evaluation to collect data from various sources, calculate sustainability indicators and generate accurate and timely ESG reports for investors and other stakeholders.

Purpose: communicate from a corporate, therapeutic area or product perspective to the healthcare professional target audience

Target audience: doctors, pharmacists, veterinarians, other healthcare professionals

Types and examples: disease awareness projects, wide-ranging education projects on digital health topics, projects to raise awareness among HCPs on issues relevant to their clinical practice, projects that focus HCPs’ attention on economic and environmental sustainability and other topics of crucial interest to the national system.

All types of multi-channel communication are included. Examples: video, podcasts and moviemaking, PR and brand storytelling, mobile and apps marketing, insight and market research, data-driven marketing, content marketing, branded experiences and events, search marketing, social media, sponsorship and partner marketing.

Projects that have already been submitted in the categories “Improving patient care” and “Supporting the medical profession”, and “HTA, healthcare supply and care” are also eligible for application in this category when the communication aspects of the project, through social and other digital channels, are prevalent.

Purpose: implement different forms of artificial intelligence in digital health projects

Target audience: doctors, other healthcare professionals, patients, payors, institutions, companies

Types and examples: all projects that use one or more of the various forms of artificial intelligence to improve one or more aspects of digital health:

• In the identification and research of new molecules
• In clinical research of drugs and medical devices
• In the prevention and diagnosis of diseases
• In the facilitation of the visit, from history taking to reporting
• In therapy setting and monitoring, in all phases of the patient journey and in pharmacovigilance
• In written and verbal communication between HCPs and between HCP and patient, as a support to doctors, pharmacists, nurses and all other HCPs involved in care delivery
• In improving the regulatory compliance of all forms of communication
• In any other situation where artificial intelligence may prove useful in improving healthcare delivery and care

Purpose: facilitate updating and provide support tools for the practice and profession of pharmacists

Target audience: community and hospital pharmacists

Types and examples: projects that help the management of the pharmacist’s activity, both territorial and hospital. Projects that reduce the risks associated with drug management, particularly at the intra-hospital level.

Projects that promote the role of the service pharmacy, promote the culture of galenic preparations, foster effective collaboration with healthcare managers, doctors, and caregivers, and promote understanding of key digital health tools.

Projects that implement innovative drug distribution practices, promote e-commerce, and counter the phenomenon of fake medicines; projects that promote a One Health culture and help pharmacists involved in animal health work with veterinarians and other stakeholders to optimise pets health.

Purpose: optimise access to new therapeutic solutions and the provision of services for citizens and patients at all stages of the patient journey by facilitating the availability and access of citizens to diagnostic and treatment facilities and improving follow up and overall disease management

Target audience: doctors, pharmacists, other healthcare professionals, payors

Types and examples: Health technology assessment (HTA) projects in the broadest sense, projects for the creation, development and implementation of validated and innovative Diagnostic Therapeutic Care Pathways (PDTA). Projects to improve healthcare provision at all levels and at all stages of the patient journey: visibility and ways of booking services, referral and diagnosis, choice and setting therapy to patient monitoring and follow-up. Patient access and patient support program projects, optimisation of the organisation of healthcare provision in hospitals and nursing homes, projects to improve access to drugs and medical devices. All projects in the category “improvement of patient care” in which the organisational management aspect, defined as “care”, over the act of caring, “cure” in the narrower sense, is prevalent, can also apply in this category

Purpose: improve business processes through digital transformation and 4.0 enabling technologies in the Life Science supply chain, in order to achieve greater competitiveness, flexibility, sustainability, compliance, productivity, speed and reliability of processes for the ultimate benefit of patients

Target audience: all functional areas (including planning, logistics, production, supply chain, quality assurance, laboratories, regulatory, clinical, pharmacovigilance, safety) of companies in the healthcare sector, from research and development, production and distribution to the point of use in healthcare facilities

Types and examples: digital transformation and Industry 4.0 projects aimed at improving business processes:

• Vertical and horizontal integration of digital systems and 4.0 enabling technologies, automation of machinery, devices, instruments, sensors for collecting and processing production/logistics/quality parameters
• Dynamic and scenario-based planning and scheduling of initiatives, products, projects and resources, e.g. for production, laboratories, research
• Management and execution of paperless production integrated with machines/sensors and other management systems (including ERP, LIMS, QMS, WMS)
• Automation of business processes and documents or business process & content management
• Logistics and materials handling using collaborative robots, automated warehouses, IOT, etc.
• Management of analysis laboratories (LIMS/LES/ELN), both research and quality control
• Management and analysis of scientific data from discovery to analysis in research laboratories
• Collection, historicisation and analysis of big data, for predictive and adaptive analysis,
• Enterprise asset management with innovative tracking tools, including real-time location and data collection, predictive analysis for maintenance, etc.

Use of 4.0 enabling technologies of particular interest including:

• Multitenant cloud, (maintenance, serialisation, quality assurance, pharmacovigilance, regulatory, production); machine learning and artificial intelligence for data interpretation, guidance and decision support for operators and managers; blockchain for distribution traceability, drug sample management for doctors, information sharing with partners and end users; digital twin and simulation for plant and utilities design, for production and logistics planning scenarios, for process optimisation; additive manufacturing or 3D printing; collaborative robots for optimising line operations; augmented and virtual reality, wearable devices and voice recognition for design integration, maintenance support and procedure execution, training implementation, etc…