The introduction of robotic neurorehabilitation among the most recent technologies in pediatrics represents a new opportunity to treat pediatric patients. This study aims at evaluating the response of physiotherapists, patients and their parents to this new technology. The study considered the outcomes of technological innovation in physiotherapists (perception of the workload, satisfaction), as well as that in patients and their parents (quality of life, expectations, satisfaction) by comparing the answers to subjective questionnaires of those who made use of the new technology with those who used the traditional therapy. A total of 12 workers, 46 patients and 47 parents were enrolled in the study. Significant differences were recorded in the total workload score of physiotherapists who use the robotic technology compared with the traditional therapy (p < 0.001). Patients reported a higher quality of life and satisfaction after the use of the robotic neurorehabilitation therapy. The parents of patients undergoing the robotic therapy have moderately higher expectations and satisfaction than those undergoing the traditional therapy. In this pilot study, the robotic neurorehabilitation technique involved a significant increase in the patients’ and parents’ expectations. As it frequently happens in the introduction of new technologies, physiotherapists perceived a greater workload. Further studies are needed to verify the results achieved.

To test the application of Business Process Management technology to manage clinical pathways, using a pediatric kidney transplantation as case study, and to identify the benefits obtained from using this technology. Using a Business Process Management platform, we implemented a specific application to manage the clinical pathway of pediatric patients, and monitored the activities of the coordinator in charge of the case management during a 6-month period (from June 2015 to November 2015) using two methodologies: the traditional procedure and the one under study. The application helped physicians and nurses to optimize the amount of time and resources devoted to management purposes. In particular, time reduction was close to 60%. In addition, the reduction of data duplication, the integrated event management and the efficient data collection improved the quality of the service. The use of Business Process Management technology, usually related to well-defined processes with high management costs, is an established procedure in multiple environments; its use in healthcare, however, is innovative. The use of already accepted clinical pathways is known to improve outcomes. The combination of these two techniques, well established in their respective areas of application, could represent a revolution in clinical pathway management. The study has demonstrated that the use of this technology in a clinical environment, using a proper architecture and identifying a well-defined process, leads to real benefits in terms of resources optimization and quality improvement.

Objective: In vitro diagnostic tests for SARS-COV-2, also known as serological tests, have rapidly spread. However, to date, mostly single-center technical and diagnostic performance's assessments have been carried out without an intralaboratory validation process and a health technology assessment (HTA) systematic approach. Therefore, the rapid HTA for evaluating antibody tests for SARS-COV-2 was applied. Methods: The use of rapid HTA is an opportunity to test innovative technology. Unlike traditional HTA (which evaluates the benefits of new technologies after being tested in clinical trials or have been applied in practice for some time), the rapid HTA is performed during the early stages of developing new technology. A multidisciplinary team conducted the rapid HTA following the HTA Core Model^® (version 3.0) developed by the European Network for Health Technology Assessment. Results: The three methodological and analytical steps used in the HTA applied to the evaluation of antibody tests for SARS-COV-2 are reported: the selection of the tests to be evaluated; the research and collection of information to support the adoption and appropriateness of the technology; and the preparation of the final reports and their dissemination. Finally, the rapid HTA of serological tests for SARS-CoV-2 is summarized in a report that allows its dissemination and communication. Conclusions: The rapid-HTA evaluation method, in addition to highlighting the characteristics that differentiate the tests from each other, guarantees a timely and appropriate evaluation, becoming a tool to create a direct link between science and health management.