On October 12th, the CHERRIES project was presented in the Republic of Cyprus to a group of over 20 stakeholders including Policy Makers, Healthcare Professionals, Innovators in Healthcare, Patient associations and stakeholders from the Research and Innovation ecosystem. The workshop was an interactive one with constant engagement from presenters and participants and that allowed honest and fruitful conversations with outputs for the future.
During the event, the regional partners CyRIC EU|BIC and the Aretaeion Hospital presented the CHERRIES methodology, and its application in the Cypriot pilot. The presentations brought together the concepts of co-creation and RRI in a pragmatic way with examples delivered during the pilot’s lifetime. Lessons learnt were presented revolving around Cyprus’ regional context and current healthcare sector status. Important discussions and the Q&A session allowed the team to see that the stakeholders in the room acknowledge the virtues of RRI which allows a holistic approach when applying a solution.
The attendees were also given the opportunity to participate first-hand and witness a live demonstration of medical tests directly from the third member of the regional team, the e-health solution of DoctorsHello. The solution was developed during the co-creation pilot named “Provision of medical services to the Cypriot citizens that live in rural and remote areas and do not have easy access to healthcare services and prescribed medicines”. During the live demonstration, all participants and stakeholders involved had the opportunity to discuss the potential sustainability and adoption of such solution to the recently established National Health System in Cyprus and its potential impact and benefits to the society.
The regional team was delighted to see that policy makers that attended the workshop and live demo expressed great interest on how ‘’demand – driven’’ approaches such as the CHERRIES methodology can aspire to bringing tangible solutions to meet real existing societal needs.
