- The Federación Española de Empresas de Tecnología Sanitaria, Fenin, has held a meeting with María José Sáenz de Buruaga. Additionally, the Regional Minister of Health, César Pascual, participated in the Federation’s Board of Directors meeting held in Santander.
- Sáenz de Buruaga valued the impact of this collaboration in positioning Cantabria as a health innovation pole, aligning industrial capabilities, technical knowledge, and health policy priorities.
- The meeting also addressed the development of the Digital Health Law being processed by the regional Executive and how to swiftly incorporate technological solutions into hospitals, health centers, and homes.
The Federación Española de Empresas de Tecnología Sanitaria, Fenin, has held a meeting with the President of Cantabria, María José Sáenz de Buruaga, to advance a plan to turn the region into a health innovation hub, reinforcing public-private collaboration to accelerate the incorporation of advanced technological solutions into the regional health system. This joint commitment will promote digital transformation, enhance the safe and ethical use of emerging technologies, and consolidate the community as a national benchmark in the adoption of innovation aimed at improving quality of care and citizen well-being.
The President of the Cantabrian Government highlighted that the regional Executive’s collaboration with Fenin, through the Ministry of Health and the Cantabrian Health System (SCS), has a major impact on positioning Cantabria at the forefront of responsible public healthcare procurement. Likewise, she stressed the importance of aligning industrial capabilities, technical knowledge, and health policy priorities of Cantabria to improve health outcomes and system sustainability.
In this framework, María José Sáenz de Buruaga recalled that the Guide for Efficient Public Procurement of Healthcare Technology, promoted by Fenin with the collaboration of SCS experts, is a key instrument for moving toward more agile, value-based, and results-oriented contracting, and a practical reference for improving procurement procedures in both the Ministry and the Cantabrian Health Service. “We are an efficient Government seeking tools and synergies to advance sustainable, effective, and rigorous management because that is our obligation, especially when we talk about the health system,” the president stated.
Jorge Huertas, President of Fenin, explained that “we are aware of the relevance granted in Cantabria to technological innovation to improve healthcare provision and the care patients receive. We thank the President for this meeting and the Cantabrian Government’s willingness to continue working with our sector to exploit the full potential offered by healthcare technologies in this goal.”
Among other current affairs, the development of the Cantabria Digital Health Law was addressed. Cantabria is working on a regulatory framework to provide greater legal certainty to the progress of digital technological solutions in the regional healthcare system, with a special focus on the safe use of artificial intelligence, data governance, and the protection of patient rights. “There is no doubt about the advantages of using disruptive technologies such as AI in healthcare and for solving regional health service challenges. But its incorporation must be carried out with maximum guarantees for professionals and patients, based on rigor, ethics, and equity. Fenin is at the disposal of the Government of Cantabria to cooperate in the proper design and application of this regulation,” valued Pablo Crespo, Secretary General of Fenin.
Participation of César Pascual in Fenin’s Board of Directors
In addition to the institutional meeting with María José Sáenz de Buruaga, the Regional Minister of Health of Cantabria, César Pascual, participated in the Fenin Board of Directors meeting held in Santander. César Pascual and the Federation representatives addressed how to improve and streamline the incorporation of technological innovation in hospitals, health centers, and the homes of Cantabrian citizens, ensuring earlier and more precise diagnoses, as well as more effective and personalized treatments.
To this end, both parties highlighted the need to commit to public healthcare technology procurement policies based on the value and quality that innovation provides, noting also the importance of achieving the indexing of public contracts during their term to guarantee the viability of companies, as outlined in the Guide for Efficient Public Procurement of Healthcare Technology.