Results of the project promoted by the Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine of the University of Florence presented at AOU Careggi: an innovative pathway networking university, hospital, and local healthcare services to improve cardiovascular risk control and healthcare system sustainability.
On June 15, 2026, the results of the ConCura project were presented at the Careggi University Hospital (Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Careggi). This research initiative was promoted by the Department of Experimental and Clinical Medicine of the University of Florence and the Atherothrombotic Diseases Unit (SOD Malattie Aterotrombotiche) of AOU Careggi, with an unrestricted grant from Novartis. The scientific director of the project is Professor Rossella Marcucci, Full Professor of Internal Medicine at the Department and Director of the Atherothrombotic Diseases Unit.
ConCura was created to address one of the main critical issues in cardiovascular prevention: the failure to achieve recommended LDL cholesterol levels in a significant proportion of high and very high cardiovascular risk patients. Hypercholesterolemia is the primary causal factor of atherosclerosis and underlies major events such as myocardial infarction and stroke, which remain among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in Western countries.
"Controlling LDL cholesterol in patients at high cardiovascular risk is one of the most effective tools to prevent events like heart attacks and strokes. ConCura stems from the need to translate scientific evidence into a concrete pathway, shared with local healthcare services and sustainable for the Health Service," underlines Professor Rossella Marcucci.
The first phase of the project involved an in-depth analysis of regional data regarding high cardiovascular risk patients, carried out in collaboration with ARS Toscana (Regional Health Agency of Tuscany). The results highlighted that, both in the 2019-2021 two-year period and in 2023, more than half of the patients did not reach the LDL cholesterol therapeutic targets indicated by international guidelines.
Based on this evidence, ConCura developed and tested a hospital-territory integration model founded on the active involvement of General Practitioners (GPs). Through specific training courses and dedicated tools, it was possible to identify patients with inadequate lipid control and refer them, through a structured pathway, for specialist evaluation at the Atherothrombotic Diseases Unit. Once the lipid-lowering therapy was optimized, patients were referred back to their primary care physician for long-term management.
The results obtained demonstrate the concrete applicability of the model in daily clinical practice. The pathway guaranteed effective patient management and a genuine flow of care between local services and the hospital. Among the evaluated patients, the intervention led to the achievement of therapeutic targets for LDL cholesterol levels in all observed cases, without causing a significant increase in healthcare costs; only a minority of patients required the introduction of second-line therapies.
The value of ConCura goes beyond clinical data. The project demonstrates how university research can directly contribute to the innovation of organizational models and public health management, transforming epidemiological data and scientific knowledge into operational pathways capable of integrating general medicine, hospital specializations, and local healthcare in the management of chronic diseases.
Furthermore, presentations by representatives of general medicine and local nursing services highlighted the strategic role of multi-professional collaboration and new forms of proactive healthcare (sanità di iniziativa), in which community nurses will also take on an increasingly relevant role.
ConCura thus stands as a virtuous model of collaboration between the University, the University Hospital, and local healthcare services: an experience capable of combining research, organizational innovation, and clinical appropriateness, with the aim of improving the prevention of cardiovascular events and contributing to the future sustainability of the Health Service.