The Agency strengthens dialogue with stakeholders and promotes listening and transparency

The Regulations for AIFA Ascolta and AIFA Incontra have been definitively approved and published in the Official Journal. The two initiatives were strongly championed by the Agency to foster constructive dialogue with its stakeholders, with a view to strengthening open and transparent governance through active participation policies.

AIFA Ascolta will be a structured forum for discussion and listening dedicated to patient associations, networks and federations: the aim is to encourage their involvement and value their contribution in terms of improving pharmaceutical care, raising the Agency’s awareness of particularly complex issues, resolving problems and sharing best practices regarding access to medicines and the protection of the right to health. The meetings, which will be purely for information purposes and not for decision-making, will normally be scheduled every four months.

AIFA Incontra, on the other hand, represents a privileged channel of dialogue between the Agency and the various institutional, scientific, industrial and civic stakeholders operating in the pharmaceutical and health sectors. The meetings, which are also normally scheduled every four months, will enable AIFA to gather expert information and allow stakeholders to submit comments and proposals in a context characterised by the utmost transparency and impartiality.

The approved Regulations provide for the establishment of a Transparency Register for both initiatives, a tool designed specifically to ensure compliance with the principles of transparency and openness towards the Agency’s various stakeholders: key information on the meetings, such as their subject matter and objectives, participants, final report and related documentation, will in fact be made available on the Agency’s website.

“With AIFA Ascolta and AIFA Incontra, we are implementing a new concept of governance that is finally open to the participation of all stakeholders,” says President Robert Nisticò. “Transparency and collaboration must be the pillars upon which we build a participatory dialogue that truly has a significant impact on citizens’ health and on healthcare as a whole. Keeping pace with innovation and ensuring fair and timely access to treatment are the objectives that AIFA is committed to achieving every day: we are convinced that these initiatives will help meet the health needs of all citizens”.