Report

Teaser, summary, work performed and final results

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - IDH (Digital Health Hub Europe)

Teaser

The project objective is to understand the European market feasibility of a new, technology enabled healthcare service that is currently being piloted in Birmingham, U.K. The project will develop the understanding needed to subsequently pilot this disruptive healthcare...

Summary

The project objective is to understand the European market feasibility of a new, technology enabled healthcare service that is currently being piloted in Birmingham, U.K. The project will develop the understanding needed to subsequently pilot this disruptive healthcare innovation in other parts of the U.K. and Europe – providing the market intelligence to start to take the innovation from ‘niche to mainstream’.
The objective of this Horizon SME Instrument study is to test the feasibility of expanding the model, technology and business plan within the U.K. and initially across an additional 5 European cities. Our specific project outcome will be a business case with early adoption partners, to undertake a series of delivery pilots in other areas of both the U.K. and Europe.
The objectives for this project are:
• To identify and build relationships with appropriate healthcare partners, in 2 additional parts of the U.K. and 5 additional European cities;
• To conduct a market study with local partners in each locality;
• To deliver stakeholder / partner workshops and sessions in each location;
• To develop feasibility for exploitation in each of these 7 additional locations, to include work with local commissioners/payers on understanding local drivers, decision making processes, and propensity to purchase;
• To deliver a complete 2 year strategic European business plan, designed to deliver pilots and subsequently commercialise at scale;
• Identify any blockers to the success of a phase 2 trial with planned mitigation.

Work performed

\"Over the course of the last 6-months, we have worked extensively with our partners to explore the DLS “Access” model and how it can be focused and developed in a number of EU healthcare markets.
The feasibility has shown that \"\"Access\"\" is a product best implemented within a healthcare provider, which has the capability to integrate the three key elements.
These key elements of “Access” are:
• Technical
• Communications
• Transformation
These components are key to enable digitally enabled transformation in healthcare systems. The study has shown that this is best done in larger vertically integrated companies and value chains.

It has become very apparent during our partner search that finding partners with the capabilities outlined is challenging, and we have struggled within the timescales we had to bring the right partners together to discuss how this may be taken forward. Fundamentally, our pilot sites need to be in at-scale healthcare providers, which by the fact that they are at-scale means they are not eligible to participate as a SME programme partner.
After the market study work we have undertaken it is clear to us that although European healthcare markets in our potential pilot sites have similarities in terms of issues and challenges of ageing and provision, the UK is ahead of the game in terms of delivering accessible healthcare efficiently.
DLS are in the processes of fundamentally transforming healthcare delivery in our existing UK sites. It is labor intensive in terms of working with provider stakeholders, but also in terms of lobbying government to ensure the correct policies and drivers are in place to allow new models of care and access to be delivered.
We also know that in terms of funding the UK government has pump-primed the market to deliver this change. As a SME organisation in the UK, without access to the existing networks and funding we have in the UK, we believe successful pilot delivery would be challenging.
\"

Final results

The impacts outlined in the original Digital Health Hub Europe proposal remain the same in terms of user benefits, unique selling points and the potential impact a solution such as DLS Access has the capability to exert on european healthcare markets.
We also have not uncovered anything during the feasibility study which would lead us to believe that delivering DLS Access into Europe would do anything other than offer growth for the organisation. What has changed as a result of the feasibility study is effectively the partner and funding strategies behind that growth.
We believe our future european growth should be delivered through commercial agreements, rather than funded research and development monies.
We also believe we need to target large partners with an existing European footprint and access to the capabilities delivery of a DLS access project requires, rather than SME organisations.

Website & more info

More info: http://www.digitallifesciences.co.uk.