Rafael José Vieira, a researcher at RISE-Health and a lecturer at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Porto (FMUP), was one of 60 people selected to take part in the 3rd edition of Health Parliament Portugal, an initiative organised by NOVA University, Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, Expresso and Microsoft, dedicated exclusively to discussing policies for the future of healthcare in Portugal.

The specialist from the RISE-Health Research Unit is one of 60 selected from over 750 applicants who will set out to “transform healthcare”. The initiative will involve a group of young people, aged between 21 and 40, who, over the next six months, will take on the role of “MPs” and debate topics such as access to and integration of care, data and artificial intelligence in healthcare, innovation and value in healthcare, oncology, prevention and diagnosis, and mental health.

For Rafael José Vieira, this honour “is a privilege to be invited to shape the future of healthcare alongside people from such diverse backgrounds”, adding that it “places an added responsibility on me: to live up to the trust that has been placed in me”.

“Health records, digital health and artificial intelligence can change the way we decide what to prevent, fund and treat, and this is a debate to which I would like to contribute. But I am not going in with ready-made solutions, nor do I assume that my field has more to say than others. Above all, I am going to listen, to learn from people with backgrounds very different from my own, and to help, where appropriate, ensure that decisions are more explicit and more evidence-based”, emphasises the expert.

The young researcher at RISE-Health also believes that, within the framework of Health Parliament Portugal, the country’s largest research unit can “help ensure that the dialogue between science and society remains rigorous, transparent and in the public interest”.

It should be noted that Rafael José Vieira completed his PhD in Clinical and Health Services Research at FMUP in 2025. His research has focused on health technology assessment, evidence synthesis, health economics and the development of clinical practice guidelines, with over 80 scientific publications to his name.