Ente Ospedaliero Specializzato in Gastroenterologia “Saverio de Bellis” is a hospital with a specialized gastroenterological, medical and surgical focus, which operates as a Scientific Institute for Research, Hospitalization and Healthcare under public law.

The IRCCS “Saverio de Bellis” is an integral part of the Health Service of the Puglia Region, in which it performs highly qualified purposes in care activities, research and training.

The IRCCS “Saverio de Bellis” role in the regional network represents a vital commitment mainly oriented to innovative gastroenterological surgery, endoscopy and hepatology. Furthermore, the IRCCS has a critical responsibility mainly oriented to excellence activities and experimentation in the hepato-gastroenterological and nutritional sectors. Thus, it has become a regional reference centre for acute, chronic, and neoplastic diseases of the digestive system and, more recently, for metabolic and dietary disorders.

The numbers of healthcare services are constantly increasing, and last year 10,000 endoscopies, 3,000 of which were interventional, and more than 1,200 gastroenteric surgeries were recorded. The following year 2,000 new patients were healed at the clinical nutrition clinic. Even more significant is the healthcare model proposed, where the approach to the patient is multidisciplinary, being accomplished by a complete and all-around team, consisting of a gastroenterologist, surgeon, endoscopist, nutritionist and pathophysiology of nutrition, oncologist, radiologist, pathologist, geneticist, pharmacologist, and epidemiologist. All these medical specialists enable a unique diagnostic and therapeutic pathway in gastroenterology, supported by transversal platforms that guarantee high added value, such as the nutraceutical and personalized medicine laboratories, but also telemedicine, currently being implemented, which allows home telemonitoring to promote patient and family empowerment and improve quality of life.

The “Saverio de Bellis” IRCCS has a substantial and advanced research facility, covering about 1,200 square metres of laboratories specifically dedicated to research, 570 square metres of dedicated services and an enclosure of 220 square metres.

The research lines follow the 3P model: precision, preventive/predictive, participatory.

Research at the ‘Saverio de Bellis’ IRCCS is translational and achieves direct and positive repercussions on healthcare assistance and citizens. Indeed, a series of innovative genetic tests are available to the local community to identify the most suitable biological therapy to combat already diagnosed tumours (the so-called “target therapy”) or investigate the predisposition of family members of the affected person to contract new ones.