This distinction, which brings together leading institutions in assistance, research, and innovation in oncological treatments, has led to the creation of the Catalunya Sud Cancer Center. This new entity arises from the collaboration with the IRB Catalunya Sud and the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, highlighting the importance of teaching and research in the project.
“"If you work well, they know you conduct good clinical trials, you have a good clinical research unit, you have basic research, and they offer you medicines that probably wouldn't be on the market for another three or four years. This way, our patients can use them sooner."
The Reus center becomes the third hospital in Catalonia and the first outside the Barcelona metropolitan area to receive this accreditation. The OECI seal evaluates 345 points across nine major areas of oncological treatment, including governance, patient involvement, multidisciplinarity, and research, ensuring comprehensive and quality care.
The center's officials emphasize that the main objective is to keep patients and their families at the heart of care. This accreditation, which must be renewed every five years through an external evaluation, ensures continuous improvement in care quality and validates a "human and person-centered vision," in line with the policies of the Department of Health.
Research and teaching are fundamental pillars of this accreditation. This distinction is expected to make the center more "attractive" to pharmaceutical companies, facilitating the testing of new drugs and allowing patients access to innovative treatments before they are generally available on the market. Furthermore, the initiative is expected to boost talent retention and competitive international research.
