The 7 priority areas for adopting innovation in the Catalan healthcare system

Innovation in healthcare is no longer an option, but an urgent necessity to ensure the sustainability of the public system. Population ageing, the rise in chronic diseases, access inequalities, new citizen expectations, and the growing demand for efficiency are putting pressure on the current care model. In this context, innovating means incorporating technological, organisational or care-related solutions that generate real value, improve quality and equity, and ensure the long-term viability of the system.

But innovation is not only about creating. It is also about knowing how to adopt and scale solutions that address specific challenges. This means listening to professionals, understanding patients’ needs, and activating coordinated mechanisms to enable the real implementation of innovation.

The adoption of healthcare innovation: European models and the Catalan strategy

To move forward on this path, it is useful to look at how other healthcare systems have activated mechanisms to accelerate the adoption of innovation. In Europe, several countries have implemented models that can serve as inspiration:

• DIGA Fast-Track (Germany): It allows digital health applications to be prescribed by doctors and included in the national reimbursement catalogue. After an initial assessment by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, companies are granted a provisional period of public coverage while collecting clinical effectiveness data, supporting early integration into the system.
   
• PECAN (France): It accelerates early access to digital and innovative solutions by combining streamlined clinical and economic evaluation with practical impact monitoring. This process involves both health authorities and providers to ensure real integration into clinical practice.
   
• Validation Pyramid (Belgium): It establishes a progressive validation pyramid (clinical, technical, economic, and impact) for digital health technologies. Only the solutions that pass each level are eligible for public funding and official implementation.
   
• ILAP i IDAP (United Kingdom): The Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) and the Innovative Devices Access Pathway (IDAP) offer comprehensive support, from guidance and regulatory evaluation to post-adoption follow-up within the NHS. ILAP facilitates the accelerated entry of innovative medicines, while IDAP does the same for medical devices through collaboration and active support.
   

Catalonia is no exception. For this reason, and with this vision, the Programme for Access to Innovation in the Catalan Healthcare System (PASS) was launched, promoted by Biocat in collaboration with the Department of Health, CatSalut and AQuAS. The programme aims to identify, prioritise and support high-value innovations by connecting the innovation community with public system stakeholders. PASS operates through three main pillars:

• Innovation Platform, to register and give visibility to available innovations.
• Navigator of instruments and support resources, to guide innovative entities.
• Accompaniment Unit, which advises prioritised projects and facilitates access to specialised services.

The 7 priority areas for healthcare innovation

To move towards a more efficient, equitable and sustainable healthcare system in Catalonia, the Catalan Health Service has identified seven priority areas where innovation can generate greater value in care delivery. Ignasi Carrasco, Head of Innovation at CatSalut, explains: “These areas are the result of a participatory process involving professionals, patients and system entities, and represent the main challenges where transformative efforts must be focused.”

1. Transformation of care management: Better coordination between care levels, healthcare and social services, and resource optimisation are key challenges for the system. It is necessary to reduce unnecessary referrals, avoid preventable hospitalisations, and free up professionals’ time by eliminating low-value tasks. It is also essential to strengthen treatment adherence and improve the safety and effectiveness of interventions, especially in high-impact conditions.
    
2. Personalised diagnosis and treatment: The healthcare system must move towards a more proactive model tailored to each patient. There is a recognised need to improve early diagnosis, particularly in diseases such as cancer and rare conditions, to optimise screening, and to adapt treatments to individual characteristics. Attention is also placed on the monitoring of chronic diseases and on strategies to improve rehabilitation and promote healthy habits.
    
3. Real-time data-driven clinical decisions: To improve the quality and efficiency of care, the system must make better use of available data. There is a need for interoperable systems that enable demand forecasting, real-time patient monitoring, and support for both professionals and patients in making informed decisions—thereby reducing clinical variability and improving coordination.
    
4. Improving service accessibility, equity and flexibility: Ensuring care that is adapted to territorial and social diversity is one of the major challenges. The system faces access inequalities depending on geographic location, living conditions, or functional capacity. Solutions are needed to bring services closer to under-served areas, facilitate care for groups with specific needs, and offer alternatives to travel—without compromising quality.
    
5. Prevention, health promotion and active ageing: Prevention remains an unresolved issue with great potential for improvement. It is necessary to strengthen community action and promote healthy habits from early life stages. Early detection of age-related conditions such as cardiovascular diseases or dementia must also be improved, while ensuring comprehensive care for chronic conditions.
    
6. Mental health and emotional well-being: The approach to mental health must be fully integrated into the system, beyond specialised care. There is a clear need to strengthen prevention, improve early detection, and offer more personalised support for both patients and professionals. The challenge of addressing emotional distress in overstretched care settings is also strongly evident.
    
7. Communication and co-creation for a better experience: The relationship between the system and the public must be clearer, closer and more participatory. There is room to improve the traceability of requests, the understanding of clinical information, and communication during key moments of the care process. At the same time, the importance of listening to patients and professionals is recognised in order to design services that are more centred on their needs.

Three cross-cutting pillars to guide healthcare innovation

Innovation in healthcare should not be limited to addressing specific challenges or introducing isolated technological improvements. To generate real and sustainable impact, it is necessary to transform how care is organised, delivered and understood—within a model that is more person-centred, more equitable, and more environmentally and socially responsible.

With this vision, the Catalan Health Service has defined three major cross-cutting pillars that act as strategic principles to guide any innovative action, regardless of its specific field. The first is putting the person at the centre: health cannot be understood only from a clinical perspective—it must also take into account all dimensions that affect well-being: physical, emotional, social and contextual. The second is actively incorporating a gender perspective, recognising that women and men experience health differently, and that these differences have traditionally been underrepresented in access, diagnosis and treatment. Finally, any innovation should contribute to a more sustainable system, not only from an economic standpoint, but also in environmental and social terms—promoting efficient resource use, reducing the ecological impact of healthcare activity, and strengthening the system’s long-term resilience.

INNOPASS: new call open until 15 October

To mark the first year of the PASS rollout, the PASS Conference was held on 8 July — a gathering of key system stakeholders to share progress. During the event, Robert Fabregat, Director General of Biocat, announced that the INNOPASS call will open on 28 July, with the aim of accelerating the adoption of innovative technologies that bring high value to the Catalan healthcare system. This call will provide an "Innovation Passport" to innovations that address the needs and challenges of the healthcare system, enabling personalised support and facilitating the agile and effective implementation of innovative solutions. The selected initiatives will also receive technical advice, regulatory support, piloting opportunities, visibility, and connections with public healthcare entities.

The call is aimed at companies, healthcare centres, universities, and research institutions from the BioRegion of Catalonia, and seeks solutions aligned with one or more of the seven priority areas defined by the Catalan Health Service to address the system’s most pressing challenges. In addition, projects will be assessed based on how well they incorporate the three strategic pillars that should guide any healthcare innovation: a comprehensive person-centred approach, gender perspective, and economic, environmental, and social sustainability.

Projects must demonstrate advanced technological maturity (minimum TRL 7) and show potentially significant clinical, organisational, social, or environmental impact. The deadline for submitting applications is 15 October 2025.

The Catalan health ecosystem is facing a key opportunity to accelerate the transformation towards a more personalised, sustainable, efficient, and people-centred model. The Programme for Access to Innovation in the Catalan Healthcare System (PASS) and the INNOPASS call represent not only a strategic tool, but also a collective commitment to systematically incorporate innovation that delivers real value to the system and to citizens.