PASS 2025 Conference: a step forward to accelerate the integration of innovation into the healthcare system
The conference brought together around 200 professionals and strengthens collaboration among healthcare stakeholders to transform the system through innovation.
On 8 July, Biocat, in collaboration with the Department of Health, the Catalan Agency for Health Quality and Evaluation (AQuAS), and the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut), organised the PASS 2025 Conference at the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, a key event to assess the first year of the Programme for Access to Innovation in the Catalan Healthcare System (PASS) and to outline upcoming challenges. The meeting brought together around 200 professionals and key stakeholders from the sector, including hospitals, startups, institutions and public entities.
From the outset, the PASS 2025 Conference highlighted the progress made by the programme and the collaboration between the driving entities. Robert Fabregat, Director General of Biocat, pointed out some of the milestones achieved: "At Biocat, we have launched two key tools: the Navigator, which helps identify available instruments and resources in the BioRegion to accelerate innovation, and the Innovation Platform, which facilitates self-assessment and connections between innovators and the healthcare system. We have also visited 17 hospitals across the territory and are currently in discussions with the regional primary care directorates, because our aim is for the innovation needed to transform the system to reach every corner and for PASS to also help reverse territorial inequalities."
The opening panel presented the main updates and tools of the PASS programme, offering a shared strategic vision to speed up the implementation of innovations required by the healthcare system. Speakers included Robert Fabregat, Director General of Biocat; Sandra García-Armesto, Director of AQuAS; Carme Pratdepàdua, Head of the mHealth.cat Office at the TIC Salut Social Foundation; and Assumpta Ricart, Manager of Integrated Health Processes at CatSalut. The session was moderated by Ramon Maspons, Director of Innovation at AQuAS.
One of the key highlights of the conference was the first-ever presentation of the priority needs of the Catalan healthcare system, identified by CatSalut, which will guide future PASS calls. Ignasi Carrasco, Director of the Healthcare Area at CatSalut, explained that out of a total of 260 identified needs, seven areas have been prioritised:
- Transforming healthcare management towards more agile and efficient processes
- Need for personalised diagnoses and treatments
- Decision-making based on real-time data
- Accessibility, equity and flexibility in healthcare delivery
- Prevention, health promotion and active ageing
- Integration of mental health and emotional well-being at all levels of care
- Communication to build trust and co-creation to enhance the experience
Carrasco framed these needs within three fundamental cross-cutting pillars that guide any innovative proposal: “The person as a whole”, placing the individual’s comprehensive health needs at the centre; “Health also has a gender”, integrating a gender perspective in both planning and healthcare delivery; and “A sustainable system”, ensuring the long-term economic, environmental, and social viability of the healthcare system.
The roundtable on lessons learned featured representatives from some of the companies selected for the pilot of the Accompaniment Unit: Alfons Carnicero, CEO of ABLE Human Motion; Alicia Martínez-Piñero, CEO of Time is Brain; Mariona Serra, Director of GoodGut; and Maria de Martí, CTO of MiMARK. The session was moderated by David Pijoan, Project Manager in Biocat’s Innovation Department, and Rosa Vivanco, Director of the Area for Health Technology Assessment and Quality at AQuAS. The startups highlighted the value of the support received through the programme and its tangible impact on their progress, as well as the challenges and improvements to be addressed in the coming years.
An exemplary case was ABLE Human Motion, which announced that they have been proposed by CatSalut as awardees for the incorporation of their robotic rehabilitation exoskeletons in five public hospitals within the Catalan healthcare system, a technology with the potential to revolutionise the functional recovery of patients with neurological disabilities: "A year ago, we joined the Accompaniment Unit and since then, we’ve achieved CE certification and implemented our technology in 15 private clinics. Now we’re entering the public healthcare system, a major goal accomplished."
The session on innovation adoption from the hospitals’ perspective was moderated by Núria Castany, Project Manager in Biocat’s Innovation Department, and Cristina Mallol, from the Management of Integrated Health Processes, Healthcare Area of CatSalut. Several key figures from the Catalan healthcare system took part, including Patricia Pesudo, Director of Strategic Development and Transformation at Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau; Oriol Estrada, Director of Care Strategy and Innovation at Hospital Germans Trias i Pujol; Imma Bosch, Head of Digital Transformation at the Hospital Consortium of Vic; and Laia Masip, Project Manager in Medical Technology and Innovation at Hospital Verge de la Cinta in Tortosa. This diverse group, representing the range of infrastructures and organisations across the territory, enabled a reflection on the various realities and challenges that Catalan hospitals face when adopting and promoting innovation. The panel addressed issues such as the lack of specific infrastructures and the need for new organisational models to ensure that innovations can be scalable. There was also consensus on the importance of better coordination with the innovation ecosystem to ensure that the solutions developed respond to real needs within the Catalan healthcare system.
One of the key moments was the announcement of the open call for INNOPASS, which will officially launch on 28 July. This call will select and support innovations aligned with the needs identified by CatSalut, providing assistance in the phases of clinical validation, piloting and implementation, through technical, scientific and management advisory services. In addition, the programme will offer the opportunity to connect the selected solutions with various stakeholders in the Catalan healthcare ecosystem (hospitals and healthcare centres, research institutes, public and private institutions, and other relevant actors) to facilitate their integration and real implementation in the healthcare system.
The institutional closing was delivered by Antoni Plasència, Director General for Health Research and Innovation, who emphasised the importance of continuing to work jointly across the public and private sectors to transform the system through the integration of innovation and to ensure a real, sustainable, and shared impact among all stakeholders in the sector.