Collaborating for Digital Health and Care in Europe

Collaboration generates useful learnings. EHTEL’s collaborated with the DigitalHealthUptake project to produce an online workshop that focused on the market for digital health solutions and what innovators do. The workshop formed part of the EHTEL Imagining 2029 work programme for 2023. The key focus was on upscaling digital health services in the hybrid models of care track. Hence, the work focused on collaboration between demand, supply, demand enabler, innovation, and capacity building.

This Imagining 2029 / DigitalHealthUptake (DHU) workshop  presented the framework of methodologies and tools for the implementation and scale-up of digital health solutions. Attendees learned about effective methods and tools employed by digital health companies. Close to 80 people participated.

The workshop:

• Presented the background on a framework of methodologies and tools for the implementation and scale-up of digital health solutions
• Covered a wide range of the most effective methods and tools employed by digital health companies and uncovered yet other methods and tools.
• Offered tips on how to scale up from the perspectives of all three types of size of digital health solution company represented.

Much more can be learned about recommended tools and methods by accessing DHU’s 2023 working paper on tools to support digital health solutions for implementation and uptake.

Introduction: Tino Marti, eHealth project officer, of EHTEL introduced the workshop. He emphasised how indispensable the DHU project is for Europeans, with its unavoidable focus on digital health. At the core of his talk were DHU’s Radar and Accelerator. This first part of the webinar presented the results so far in DHU related to the classification of methodologies and tools for implementation and scale-up of digital health solutions. DHU has spotted seven categories of tools for  facilitating scale-up. They include design, business modelling, risk stratification, compliance to standards and norms, maturity and readiness, digital skills development, and value assessment. Of key interest, in terms of tools, are the ‘Blueprint personas’, SCIROCCO Maturity Model, and ASSIST. DHU will launch a call for trainings in digital health scale-up tools later in 2023.

Insights from companies: The second part of the webinar featured three presentations representing the supply side and companies of a range of sizes. Talks came from a large digital health organisation, an SME, and a platform for start-ups.

First up was Katarzyna Markiewicz – Market Intelligence Lead, Philips, an international company focusing on digital transformation for healthcare. She emphasised messages in the firm’s future roadmap on digital solutions becoming more personalised, being supported by evidence, and having human beings at the centre. The firm also pursues directions towards digitally-related long-term partnerships, the integration of third party offerings, and the use of digital marketplaces/platforms. Potential barriers to general growth include challenges to data access, trust, and scale. Of huge importance overall for the firm/industry is the need for safe, secure, and responsible use of data and artificial intelligence.

Dalibor Frtunik – CEO, Sorsix, an Australian-based SME with a keen focus on North Macedonia, dialled in from the USA. He spoke about Pinga, Sorsix’s core product, an e-health, centralised operating system. In the Balkan region, Sorsix works especially with the relevant Ministry of Health and hospital directors. Dalibor emphasised how the system’s users benefitted from a ‘network effect’, as more and more other users joined the system. He also praised the use of effective pilots. His tips on making progress and achieving scale-up were to: start small, exhibit value, and show how people get ‘to own’ a system.

Rita Campos - EU Project Manager, F6S, which brings together the owners of many different start-ups, spoke of the platform’s experiences with the need to validate solutions, understand legislation and regulation(s), and know about market(s). The F6S platform is able to offer advice, guidance, and training to businesses in their early stages. Among Rita’s several tips were knowing about types of customers/users, adjusting language, involving communities, ensuring system safety, using co-design methods, and gaining ethical approval. Ultimately, Rita highlighted the need to invest in success stories and show results.

Moderated discussion: Throughout the webinar, the audience engaged in a moderated discussion . Attendees mentioned other scale-up tools related especially to risk stratification and compliance/standards. Attendees were especially interested in what incentives to use the system could be offered to doctors and what, if any, resistance would occur. Process-wise, attendees wondered whether obtaining ‘quick wins’ is enough. Among the overall conversation topics were the potential (future) influence of artificial intelligence (AI) and of medical device-related regulations.