Members of the Health Economics Group at the Marqués de Valdecilla Research Institute (IDIVAL) and the University of Cantabria (UC), participants in the European project “Intelligent Digital Twin for Social Prescribing in Primary Healthcare” (SAM, acronym for Health, Social, Assets and Map), aimed at improving healthcare and population well‑being and framed within the Interreg Sudoe programme, recently visited the pilot area in Lisbon with the goal of continuing to advance the development and implementation of innovative digital health solutions.
During their stay in Lisbon, a field visit was carried out to observe local practices and contexts relevant to the development and implementation of digital health and innovation initiatives. The team also held an institutional meeting at ULS Santa Maria, where knowledge exchange and discussions on strategies to integrate technological innovation into health services were promoted.
The agenda also included a meeting with political representatives from the Alvalade Parish Council, where proximity initiatives, social innovation, and new avenues of collaboration between healthcare institutions, academia, and the community were discussed.
During the visit, team members toured various health assets previously identified in the area, established contact with managers of formal assets, and held meetings with researchers from the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Lisbon who are part of the SAM consortium. These types of exchanges strengthen international cooperation and enable the sharing of key experiences to advance towards more innovative, collaborative, and people‑centred health systems.
Improving social and healthcare services and personalised social prescribing in urban and rural settings
The project has a total budget of 1.96 million euros, of which 1.47 million come from ERDF funds, and is coordinated by researcher Olga de Cos, from the IDIVAL Health Economics Group and the UC’s ETAO group.
The initiative brings together 25 partners, including beneficiaries and associated entities from Spain, France, and Portugal, such as research centres like the Aragón Health Research Institute, IBIMA‑FIMABIS, and the Portuguese AIDFM, as well as public administrations including the Health Department of the Government of Cantabria, the Health and Consumer Affairs Department of the Regional Government of Andalusia, the Primary Care Management of the Government of Aragón, the Penagos City Council, the Communauté de communes du Pays de Nay (France), and the Câmara Municipal de Almeida (Portugal). In Cantabria, the SAM model will be deployed in the rural health centre of Penagos with the aim of improving the quality of life of the most vulnerable populations.
