ILO 2022 - 2023

The Industry Task Force (ILTF) celebrates its first birthday in its current constitution. The ILTF fosters the relationship between industry partners and ESAIC. The support of industry partners is essential to help accomplish ESAIC’s “RESSC mission”: Research, Education, Safety, Sustainability, and Congresses. These are the crossroads at which we interact with one another. So let’s walk true of them and look at what we accomplished together and where we are heading in 2023.
ESAIC offers the industry both academic contracted research and grants that can be sponsored. The support of unrestricted grants seems challenging because of compliance issues and a more pronounced request for proof of return on investments. However, this is an area that can be finetuned. A portfolio is under development that will provide the industry with a well-documented and well-defined array of sponsorship possibilities. This should streamline what ESAIC has on offer and get away with a piece of sometimes fragmented information that is currently out there. In the future, this portfolio is expected to include research proposals written by ESAIC.
The education portfolio has been completely modernized and presented in a clear, accessible format. It was presented to the industry at the beginning of 2022 with great success. Many modes of knowledge dissemination have been included (Webinars, Theme of the month series, podcasts…). Many of them were sponsored by our industry partners. The interest of industry in ESAIC’s
educational toolbox is growing. There is a clear trend for the industry to invest more in education. The ESAIC Academy website will prove key to further developments in that area.
ESAIC has introduced the possibility for Industry companies to publish links to their educational materials through the ESAIC website and to publish articles in the ESAIC Newsletter.
Safety remains at the heart of what anaesthesia providers do, and the solutions industry provides to achieve that goal. Many safety programs supported by significant partners are ongoing. Still, they will require the continued support of industry, ultimately to result in the successful implementation of the Helsinki Declaration in clinical practice.
Sustainability has taken or will take centre stage in the upcoming years. This will become a significant area of mutual synergy between ESAIC and the industry in the years to come. The major challenge that is being worked out is coming up with concrete and realistically achievable goals within Anaesthesia and Intensive Care. This challenge is being taken on and should provide a forum for joint efforts between ESAIC and the industry.
ESAIC annual congress is one of its highlights. Things are moving and changing rapidly in no other area, an evolution accelerated by the COVID pandemic. Interest in the presence of a large booth or a booth at all is quickly fading. Internet and social media-driven sales, sustainability concerns, and decreasing leads leading to potential purchases have been cited as causative. Instead, there is an increasing interest in supporting education at the meetings. Knowledge transfer seeks to adapt to how the younger colleagues seek to acquire new information. This is reflected in ESAIC offering the more engaging Serious Games, SimLab, and Guided Industry tours, all paving the road to what seem to become “booth-free” meetings. Considering compliance adherence, the combination of creativity and ingenuity will provide fertile grounds for ESAIC and industry to build the future congress.
It will be essential to reexamine and redefine “partnership”. Areas in which the industry wants to invest in ESAIC’s RESSC portfolio are rapidly changing, and any investment done will require documentation of return on investment. This is the reality of the moment. Thank you, Industry partners, for your unrelenting support in these busy times. And a special thank you to all the individuals who help drive the efforts that seek to combine the interests of both parties, ultimately united in the goal of getting the best possible outcome for each patient we care for.

Best wishes to you all for 2023!

On behalf of the ESAIC ILTF,

Jan Hendrickx.

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