Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ConCare (Leveraging the scalability of mobile devices to improve the outcome of all critically ill patients: a multi-faceted health platform to enable the continuum of care from ICU to home.)
Reporting period: 2017-08-01 to 2017-12-31
Our project addresses the shortcomings in continuum of care as patients transition from intensive to acute care, to low-dependency wards, and eventually to home care or normal life. This deficiency can cause repeat visits, and negative healthcare outcomes such as stress-induced hyperglycaemia. Our ConCare system empowers healthcare staff, the patient, and their family in the maintenance of this continuum of care by enabling improved access to information, and providing them all with the capacity to add to this information themselves. Our overall objective is to improve healthcare outcomes for patients by providing a robust information system that allows for improved precision of care.
First, we validated our roadmap to commercialisation by assessing where the technology stands and what activities need to be undertaken to go to market. From this we developed our localisation plan and entered negotiations with several hospitals in Europe. Further, we established a threat model for our technology platform as a whole. We had the opportunity to engage with a patient who had recently spent time in an intensive care unit and high-dependency ward, validating the problems and needs to which our project responds, and gaining detailed feedback on where to focus our efforts.
The main result of our Phase 1 project was the decision to move forward with clinical trials, seeking funds from the SME Instrument Phase 2. Dissemination of this decision was aimed at clinical partners throughout the EU, including in Italy, Germany, and Sweden.
The main result of our Phase 1 project was the decision to move forward with clinical trials, seeking funds from the SME Instrument Phase 2. Dissemination of this decision was aimed at clinical partners throughout the EU, including in Italy, Germany, and Sweden.
The state of art is represented by pen-and-paper type methods, with no real tracking possibilities and a very low user satisfaction: portability is very low and, in general, the use of paper is discouraged at bedside. Existing solutions to improve outcomes of critically ill patients only target isolated phases of recovery, without focusing on the whole care continuum. ConCare is a digital health platform that empowers clinicians, family and patients in the management and recovery of critically ill patients, following them from the intensive care unit up to the discharge and beyond, and promoting rehabilitation. The platform is deployed on a dedicated tablet per each ICU bed, it is shared by the ICU multi-disciplinary care team and can be accessed by the patient and his family directly (in the ICU) or from their own mobile devices (in the ward and at home). The reductions in environmental stressors to patients, empowering of healthcare staff, and improved rehabilitation and some therapies is expected to make significant savings in healthcare outcomes. The connected nature of the platform will also enhance mobility and continued care of patients as they are discharged from healthcare centres.