Trentino salute 4.0 - the creation of a competence center on digital health integrating policy, healthcare trust and research in trentino territory

TrentinoSalute4.0 (TS4.0) is the recently created "Competence Center on Digital Health" after approval from the Trentino Provincial Council as a policy instrument to coordinate the work on digital health in the region. TS4.0 represents the meeting point between the health system, research and the territory, becoming the instrument of cohesion between the guidelines of health planning, the innovation needs expressed by the Provincial Health Service and the opportunities offered by research and new digital technologies [1]. The TS4.0 initiative responds to the need to fill the gap between planning, research and actual implementation of innovative solutions on digital healthcare to support the local Healthcare Trust while empowering Citizens for better management of their own health in Trentino Region in a sustainable way. The Center active from 2017 responds to the objectives set by policy makers and local, national and European health planning, starting from the needs expressed by health professionals and citizens, identifying new organizational models and technological solutions, studying the legal aspects and evaluating their socio-organizational and economic impact of digital health initiatives. The ultimate goal is to transform the technical-organizational solutions tested into innovative services for the healthcare sector. The Province of Trento allocated a start-up fund of 1,350,000 Euros for the three-year period 2017-2019. Since its creation, the Center has been the container for new projects on digital health co-funded at Local, National and International level with the objective of being put into service in the Trentino territory. The Center is jointly governed, by a Steering Committee and an Executive Committee composed by the Autonomous Province of Trento, the Provincial Health Services Agency and the Bruno Kessler Foundation.The TS4.0 initiative is open to all Civil Society, Enterprises, Academy, Associations and interested actors in the domain of digital healthcare innovation and since its creation has attracted co-funding for over 1ME through European Projects such as H2020 WellCo [2] and Upright [3]. The TS4.0 initiative has attracted interest and is part of ongoing discussions in other projects such as Interreg Central Europe Digital Life project [4] and recently funded H2020 Vigour in which is presented as a good practice in Europe. Additionally, TS4.0 initiative has been presented as a commitment in the EIP-AHA network in which which Trento is a reference site [5].