As a partner of the 2026 edition of Radical Health Festival Helsinki, RSCN organised and hosted the session “Digital Transformation in Action – Enabling user-centered care through inter-professional interventions” on 20 January 2026, bringing together European experts to explore how interprofessional training models like Teamcare and COMFORTage can drive systemic digital transformation in health and care.
Radical Health Festival Helsinki was held from January 19 to 21, 2026, at the Helsinki Expo and Convention Centre (Messukeskus), coordinated by éditohealth and Messukeskus with the support of the City of Helsinki and the Finnish Ministry of Health. Under the theme “Operationalizing Precision Health,” the festival focused on how to implement personalised and proactive healthcare approaches using biological, environmental and lifestyle data to prevent disease and offer tailored treatments. The event gathered physicians, researchers, startups, policymakers, patients and media to promote cooperation and innovation across European healthcare systems, with a strong emphasis on digitalisation, big data, artificial intelligence, environmental health and active ageing.
Within this context, the RSCN session focused on how transversal and digital competencies can empower health and care professionals to respond to evolving service demands, while fostering a shared inter-professional culture that prioritises collaboration, user empowerment and long-term sustainability.
The session opened with presentations from Fiona Kent and Jan Illing (RCSI), Despoina Mantziari (AUTH) and RSCN, outlining how the Teamcare curriculum is being deployed across European regions through flexible micro-credentials tailored to organisational and national contexts. COMFORTage was presented as a pan-European initiative addressing digital transformation in dementia and frailty care through AI-supported interventions, modular training and alignment between clinical, digital and governance actors.
During Round Table 1, early experiences from Teamcare pilots were shared by Benedetto Giardulli (UniGe), Ewelina Łojewska (UMED), Kleio Koutra (HMU) and Geraldine Regan (RCSI). Speakers illustrated how each region adapted the model to local needs and highlighted critical skills gaps addressed, from digital literacy to interprofessional collaboration. These pilots are already generating evidence for system-level uptake within higher education and professional development frameworks.
Session 2 shifted the focus to the innovation ecosystems required to move from pilots to sustained implementation. Raquel Losada (INTRAS / COMFORTage), Donna Henderson (NHS Scotland) and Antonios Papadakis (Region of Crete) emphasised the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration, interoperability and continuous professional training to ensure meaningful adoption across diverse settings.
Round Table 2 showcased use-cases from regional ecosystems and COMFORTage pilots. Ana Carriazo (Andalusia Reference Site), Angelina Kouroubali (Crete Reference Site), Guido Iaccarino (Age-IT Campania Reference Site), Joanna Lane (Health Cluster NET), Despoina Mantziari (AUTH / COMFORTage) and Raquel Losada shared concrete examples of service models and digital solutions being scaled up, highlighting enabling conditions such as strong governance, strategic partnerships, interoperable infrastructure and a digitally competent workforce.
Throughout the discussion, participants stressed the value of peer-learning networks, communities of practice and twinning initiatives to accelerate cross-regional knowledge transfer. Training and workforce capacity building clearly emerged as central pillars of digital transformation strategies, particularly in ageing societies facing increasingly complex care needs.
The session was moderated by Maddalena Illario, Silvia Bossio, Paolo Michelutti and Vincenzo De Luca (RSCN), Jan Illing (RCSI), Leo Lewis, Silva Paananen, Diane Whitehouse (EHTEL) and Myriam Martin (éditohealth), ensuring dynamic exchanges between speakers and participants.
The event concluded with reflections from Joanna Lane (Health Cluster NET) and Maddalena Illario (RSCN), who highlighted that scaling transformation requires aligning people, skills, technology and governance around users’ real lives. Inter-professional capabilities, collaborative ecosystems and continuous learning are essential to make integrated, user-centred care the norm rather than the exception.