The partnership between the Italian Federation of Cardiology (FIC) and the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) is going strong and this alliance actually set the historical grounds of FIC.
The FIC welcomes the ESC on their website with a section entirely dedicated to ESC products and activities – but in Italian. This section provides links to the ESC website.
The FIC has been involved in the European Membership Card project since 2003. All members of the Federation therefore hold an ESC Membership card, giving them ESC membership awareness and entitling them to related advantages.
In the political and local arena
The Italian Federation is involved in a number of commissions at the Italian Ministry of Health, for instance, cardiological devices and prevention. It also signed the European Heart Health Charter, an initiative of the ESC involving its member countries. A local PR event took place in Milan in November 2007 and another major event is scheduled for June 2008.
The FIC is currently preparing a document on Structure and functional organisation of Cardiology. It aims to propose a functional model of public healthcare and will update the current edition which dates back to 2004.
Every five years the FIC organises a Census of Cardiology Centres of the Italian National Health Service, describing the distribution of Italian Cardiology Units and the number of major cardiological procedures. The 2005 census is ready to be published.
Making use of the European Guidelines
The ESC Guidelines are translated and published periodically in the Giornale Italiano di Cardiologia. For the most relevant guidelines each translation is accompanied by a comment of Italian experts, with the aim to set the international guidelines in the Italian healthcare context. An implementation project is arranged following the publication of some of the Guidelines, including the organisation of Consensus conferences and regional educational meetings.
Strong Italian representation within the ESC community
In fact, one of the main aims of the FIC is the representation of Italian cardiology within the ESC and other international connections, as well as nationally, in relation to the Italian National Health Service.
Common policies of clinical practice, training, education and research are among the main tasks, and a formal interaction among the various organisations is sought, to create and maintain a unique national reference for each of the specific interest-areas in cardiology.
Key publications and activities
The
Journal of Cardiovascular Medicine is a joint publication of the FIC and the Italian Society for Cardiac Surgery. Original research articles, epidemiological studies, new methodological clinical approaches, case reports, design and goals of clinical trials, review articles, points of view, editorials and images in cardiovascular medicine are published in English in this monthly journal.
The FIC has another monthly publication in Italian, the
Giornale Italiano di Cardiologia, containing translations of international Guidelines together with editorial comments, original articles on national epidemiological studies, clinical trials, editorials, case reports.
Family portrait or how the FIC was born from two entities
The Italian Federation of Cardiology was created in 1998 to ensure a unique and single Italian representation in the ESC community, joined in that same year.
The Italian Society of Cardiology (SIC, founded in 1935 by University Cardiologists) joined forces with the Italian Association of Hospital Cardiologists (ANMCO, founded 1963) and thus established a strong position as a medical speciality - now known as the FIC.
These two entities are complementary but are still operating on a stand-alone basis as they have different aims.
Highest number of ESC members
Besides being the sole National Society with this structure, the FIC has by far the highest number of ESC members. Their 7,500 members represent a sheer 15% of all ESC National Societies'members. The FIC also plays an important role in the ESC community, with representation on many boards and committees.
Two annual congresses and a large range of courses
ANMCO holds its annual congress in Florence at the end of May – beginning of June, while the SIC annual congress will take place in December in Rome.
A large number of educational initiatives are also organised by both entities during the year: local meetings, teaching courses and educational campaigns, in addition to several joint initiatives.
Details of the above can be found on the SIC and ANMCO websites.