First EFIC® Symposium Societal Impact of Pain - SIP

Antonio Gaudioso
Antonio Gaudioso
vice secretary general
Cittadinanzattiva, Italy
Antonio Gaudioso
WORK EXPERIENCE
Current position: since 2002 Deputy Secretary
of Cittadinanzattiva-Active citizenship network
and responsible for national and international
relations with the stakeholders of the
organisation, for instance the Italian
Government and Parliament, the European
Commission, European Parliament.
Vice President of Active Citizenship Foundation.
He is regularly invited to take the floor as
speaker in national and international
conferences and seminars on the theme of
citizens’ rights, welfare systems and corporate
social responsibility.
Concerning the health field, he takes part (and
he has also participated in the preliminary
works of the Committee) in meetings/
hearings with the National Drugs Committee
(Commissione Unica del Farmaco /AIFA)
where access to drugs related to chronic
illnesses is discussed.
In 2002 he contributed to the drafting of the
European Charter of Patients’ Rights
promoted by Active Citizenship Network, the
European program of Cittadinanzattiva.
He started his collaboration with
Cittadinanzattiva in 1996 taking up the
responsibility of launching the first PIT Salute:
a free daily service offering information, advice
and assistance to all citizens in order to
safeguard their rights in the field of welfare and
health, for both public and private facilities.
Later, he became the director of this service
that, to this day, deals with thousands of
citizens’ complaints and requests for advice. A
considerable number of these complaints
concern access to drugs.
Following this experience, he started working
on several themes connected with the
protection of health rights. For instance, he
engaged in the process of adoption of the first
Law on Pain in 2000; he participated in the
roundtable “Quality Alliance” triggered by
Cittadinanzattiva and involving pharmacists
and both hospitals and GPs in the discussion
of the quality of health services; and finally, he
took part in several information campaigns
related to the protection of rights, specifically
the right to innovation on health services.
Some of most important initiatives/campaigns
were dedicated to:
- the introduction of generic drugs;
- access to pain relief drugs;
- supporting the creation of the Coalition of
Associations for Patients Suffering Chronic
Diseases;
- the promotion of the “Premio Alesini” - an
annual award for best practices in health;
- the promotion of the right to informed
consent;
- the promotion of safety and risks’ prevention
in the hospitals;
- civic audit in the health structures (program
already adopted by the Minister of Health in
Italy).
Currently he is a member of several commissions
and working groups on health in Italy
and Europe (for example the Oncology Patient
Advisory Board at Roche and Health Advisory
Board at EuropaBio).
Place and date of birth: Battipaglia (SA) - July
7th, 1972
Citizenship: Italian
EDUCATION
Graduated in Political Science and International
Relations– University of Macerata
Summer School on HTA at London School of
Economics
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