Sophie Restellini  © ECCO

Digital health is a broad concept encompassing categories such as mobile health (mHealth), health information technology (HIT), wearable devices, telehealth and telemedicine, with several aims, one of which  is to foster the development of personalised medicine [1, 2].

Digital care meets the same requirements as in-person medicine (regarding ethics, patient consent, authentication of health professionals, report of consultation in the patient's file). Pre-COVID-19 this model of care was successfully used to monitor patients with a variety of chronic illnesses, and it gained traction after the emergence of COVID-19 because of the emerging need to apply alternative ways of delivering healthcare without human contact.

Peter Bossuyt © ECCO

During the upcoming ECCO Virtual Congress, ClinCom is organising the 4^th School for Clinical Trialists. One of ClinCom’s aims is to increase the quality of clinical trials in IBD and to provide new insights into the fast-moving field of clinical trial development. Randomised clinical trials (RCTs) are still the gold standard for the development and registration of new treatment options. 

Sebastian Zeissig  © ECCO

Dear ECCO Members and Friends, 

ECCO has established Fellowships, Grants and Travel Awards to encourage and support young physicians in their careers and to promote innovative scientific research in IBD.   

The educational programme of the 16^th Congress of ECCO is scheduled one week prior to the official start of the ECCO Congress and all educational courses take place from July 2-3, 2021. These activities target ECCO’s different interest groups including young gastroenterologists, surgeons, paediatricians, pathologists, IBD Nurses, dietitians, allied health professionals and scientists.

The scientific programme will be held from July 8-10, 2021 including Digital Oral Presentations.

An overview of these activities can be found below. In order to get more information please click on the respective course link. For ECCO'21 Virtual overlapping courses can be watched on-demand until end of October 2021. It is foreseen, that delegates who registered for educational courses and/or the scientific programme can claim their CME credits also for on-demand content. We encourage you to register at your earliest convenience.

In addition we are pleased to present already the preliminary programme of the 17^th Congress of ECCO in Stockholm  February 23-26, 2022 below.

We look forward to welcoming you at the 16^th Congress of ECCO Virtual!

Nuha Yassin  © Nuha Yassin

Ignacio Catalán-Serra © Ignacio Catalán-Serra

Dear IBD colleagues and friends,

Warm greetings from the ECCO News Team at the beginning of 2021, after a very challenging year.

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has affected everyone in one way or another, we at ECCO have been adapting to the new circumstances.  The ECCO Team have been working hard to continue to uphold the highest standards of care for IBD patients and to provide high-quality research, education and training opportunities.

We have some important announcements to make. Due to the uncertainty over the COVID-19 situation in Europe and around the world, the ECCO Governing Board, in collaboration with the ECCO Office, have taken the very important decision to move from a face-to-face ECCO’21 Congress to a virtual ECCO’21 Congress in order to be able to guarantee deliverability and ensure safety for our ECCO Colleagues and Friends.

Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet © ECCO

Dear Friends,

My first words and thoughts are for you. When we decided that ECCO’21 would be virtual, it was not an easy thing, believe me. And I know that it was probably also a big disappointment for you. However, we all have to take our responsabilities. ECCO is in our heart the most important thing, but the health of thousands of people cannot be put in danger. You will enjoy this format that will be unique and attractive, you can count on us. I really hope that it is the last time that we cannot share a beer and dance together.

Clarisse Nogueira Maia © Clarisse Nogueira Maia

Portugal

N-ECCO National Representative:
Clarisse Nogueira Maia
Job Title: 
Nurse

What influenced your decision to apply for the role of N-ECCO National Representative for your country?

I have worked with IBD patients for a long time, delivering IV drug administration in an outpatient clinic.

What IBD nursing initiatives, N-ECCO network opportunities or developments in IBD care are happening in your country?

We have an annual meeting of the IBD Group to promote IBD in Portugal.

Egypt

Name of group: Egyptian Developers of Gastroenterology and Endoscopy (EDGE) Foundation

Number of active members: 130

Number of meetings per year: 

Major Events: Annual Meeting “DIGEST” in winter and Cairo Crohn’s & Colitis Congress “4Cs” in summer ( in 2021 an ECCO Educational Workshop to be included).

Minor Events: Monthly meetings directed at fellows and GI specialists in different regions in Egypt

Online Activities: Regular webinars directed at healthcare professionals (replacing monthly meetings during the pandemic) and five multidisciplinary IBD patient webinars annually. Community awareness campaign on IBD throughout the year via social media platforms, including videos, advice articles and consultations.

General Assembly: One in summer and one in winter.

President and Secretary: Mohammed Khorshid (President), Mohamed El-Nady (Secretary-General)

National Representatives: Mohammed Khorshid

Joined ECCO in: 2020

Incidence of IBD in the country: There have still been no sufficient demographic studies.

Greece

Name of group: Hellenic Group for the Study of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (EOMIFNE)

Number of active members: 176 regular members and 18 honorary members

Number of meetings per year: one (1) annual congress and various one-day meetings and webinars (approximately three to six per year). Training school for Inflammatory Bowel Disease with five annual two-day lessons, accepting participants (specialists or trainees) from all over Greece who have a special interest in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases and want to increase their knowledge.

© EOMIFNE

© EOMIFNE

Croatia

Name of group: Croatian Society of IBD, Croatian Medical Assocation & IBD Section, Croatian Society of Gastroenterology

Number of active members:  70

Number of meetings per year: 4

Name of president and secretary: Željko Krznarić and Marko Brinar

National Representatives: Željko Krznarić and Ante Tonkić

Joined ECCO in: 2001 (Boris Vucelic, ECCO Honorary Member, was one of the founders of ECCO)

Incidence of IBD in the country: Zagreb City and Area 2010: UC 3.3/10⁵, CD 3.3/10

Primorsko-Goranska County, Croatia, 2000–2004: UC 4.3/10⁵, CD 7.0/10

Vukovarsko-Srijemska County, Croatia, 2001–2010: UC 3.5/10⁵, CD 0.95/10

Today we are seeking and collecting new data since we are aware of a significant increase in the incidence of IBD during the last decade.