BusinessToday Previous Editions

4 NEWS 19.10.2023 THE Malta Institute of Accountants (MIA) has highlighted simplification, efficiency, reduced bureaucracy to fa- cilitate business, compliance and com- petitiveness as top priorities in a set of proposals presented to Minister for Finance and Employment Clyde Caru- ana, in view of the upcoming Budget 2024 and beyond. e initiatives presented to the Min- ister included a combination of policy measures and fiscal incentives, which address industry bottlenecks. e pro- posals seek to improve administrative processes to enhance compliance and correctness whilst benefiting the busi- ness community and taxpayers, as well as the overall quality of the Maltese ju- risdiction. While elements having a direct im- pact on members of the accountancy profession continued to be central to the Institute's proposals, several of the recommendations put forward also look at the wider economic system and aim to serve the broader interests of both the business community and in- dividual taxpayers. e MIA highlighted the importance to continue strengthening further the relationship between accountancy pro- fessionals and the Malta Tax and Cus- toms Administration (MTCA). is collaboration encompasses ongo- ing dialogue, consultation and the publi- cation of guidelines, which are essential to improve the ease of doing business in Malta while ensuring adherence to the applicable regulatory framework. e Institute also reaffirmed the need for stronger consideration of sustain- ability in policy development. Ad- dressing the skills and resource gap challenge currently impacting the pro- fession, MIA representatives insisted that solutions should focus on attract- ing and retaining foreign professionals to maintain, and further create, value added to the industry and the wider economy. ese recommendations were pre- sented by MIA representatives to Caruana during a meeting held at the Ministry for Finance and Employment. Prior to the meeting, the Institute had consulted extensively with its Com- mittees and Groups in drawing up such proposals. MIA representatives presenting their Budget proposals to finance minister Clyde Caruana (left) Malta's competitiveness, ease of doing business at heart of accountants' Budget proposals A new suite of products offering excit- ing possibilities for home healthcare are being unveiled by Maltese company io- Labs Ltd, in partnership with a Silicon Valley based start-up, during the Med- Tech World Summit being held in Mal- ta this week. ese products monitor patients' vital signs and activity providing real-time data so that falls and cardiorespiratory issues can be picked up almost imme- diately, leading to a significant improve- ment in the quality of care. Prof. Kristian Zarb Adami, ioLabs founder and CEO, said trials using these devices were carried out over the past few months, in collaboration with the Ministry for Active Ageing, to validate and test the technology's efficiency in non-contact monitoring of vital signs, real-time data access, and integration with mobile platforms. "e early results from the trials car- ried out through the ministry's sup- port offer a glimpse into the future of healthcare. is technology promises to become an essential aid to the nursing and caring profession and represents the company's vision of making quality healthcare accessible, personalised, and prompt for everyone." Zarb Adami, who will be sharing these findings during the MedTech summit being held in Valletta between October 19-20, said the aim of these trials was to familiarise healthcare professionals and relatives with real-time data access to patients''vital signs, enabling them to make informed decisions promptly, fa- cilitating early intervention and leading to better patient management. Over the next few months, ioCare, part of ioLabs, will start the process of installing these devices in residential homes to reduce the need for in-person visits, in turn easing the load of health- care delivery and allowing professionals to spend more quality time with more patients.. ioCare will also collect daily activi- ty data, including walking and sleep patterns, which will eventually allow for the early diagnosis and trajectory of ageing diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. It will also help iden- tify cardiorespiratory issues such as sleep apnoea, asthma and heart arrhythmia. One of the main goals of ioCare is the fast detec- tion of health and activity anomalies, such as falls. e data collected allows for a more personalised approach to healthcare, with tailored treatment and intervention plans. e contactless fea- ture of the technology means certain patients can be monitored comfortably in their homes, without the need for wearables or cables attached to the pa- tient. Zarb Adami said this ca- pacity for contactless, re- al-time health monitoring, and its potential to make healthcare more accessible and personalised promised to be an important step in personalising healthcare and bringing it closer to home. Its integration capabilities with mo- bile platforms and AI promise a future where healthcare is more proactive and patient-centered. "Given the successful trends emerging from the trials, we plan to demonstrate this technology at the Consumer Elec- tronic Show in Las Vegas and making it available to the public in the first quar- ter of 2024. is will allow individuals to monitor the health of their elderly parents or loved ones living alone, em- powering them to ensure their family's wellbeing," he said. Apart from its collaboration with the Ministry for Active Ageing, ioLabs is also partnering with Silicon Valley based start-up reshold-Care, and University College London hospitals. ese partnerships are pivotal in val- idating the capabilities of its devices and exploring new horizons in remote healthcare. Jacob Loader, CEO of reshold Care said: "Early results indicate a significant potential for preventive healthcare, with the ability to identify health con- cerns before they become critical." Local technology offers glimpse into the future of healthcare

• Cover