Periodic Reporting for period 1 - HSMonitor (Pre-commercial Procurement of innovative ICT-enabled monitoring to improve health status and optimise hypertension care) Reporting period: 2019-10-01 to 2020-07-31 Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project HSMonitor is a pre-commercial procurement (PCP) project looking for innovative monitoring solutions to improve health status and optimise hypertension care.Five healthcare providers from four countries (Turkey, Italy, Croatia and Sweden) are engaged in the procurement, catering to a combined population of 96 million, of which 31 million already have hypertension. The envisaged solutions should cover areas such as early detection and prevention, healthier lifestyle and nutrition, treatment adherence, training and education.The envisaged solutions are developed in competitive phases by industry players (suppliers).The ultimate goal of the project is to apply R&D to generate several different solutions addressing the unmet needs of the healthcare providers with regards to providing effective hypertension care. Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far During the first Reporting Period (RP1), the project has been in phase 0 – curiosity driven research and preparation of the PCP Call for Tenders. This is reflected in activities organised in WPs 1, 2, 7, 8 and 9. In WP1 the consortium partners have worked to define the various specifications that tenderers must take into account in their applications. The specifications include common requirements (functional, non-functional, organisation and business, legal and regulatory), use cases, process models, supported by context information (e.g. information about existing systems and processes that need to be taken into account), as well as by change management considerations. More than 160 requirements have been defined, complemented by nine use cases and their process models. Aligned with the innovative nature of the PCP, the use cases describe expected end results as opposed to detailed workflows, so as to allow innovative ideas being put forward by tenderers. WP2 has dealt with two main aspects in RP1: fostering an Open Market Consultation and preparing the Call for Tender documents. The two aspects are closely linked to each other.The Open Market Consultation in the form of a series of events, dissemination and communication actions, were used to:► inform potential suppliers about the HSMonitor pre-commercial procurement opportunities► explain in detail the pre-commercial procurement process► open a dialogue with potential suppliers about the scope of procurement envisaged in the project (incl. technical specifications)► facilitate matchmaking among potential suppliers in need of support in the building of consortia capable of addressing the needs of the HSMonitor procurers in fullClose stakeholder collaboration was required to ensure that the specifications developed in WP1 are adequate and realistic within the project timeframe. Feedback by potential applicants was collected in a systematic way through a dedicated questionnaire and used to inform the developments in WP1.The development of the Call for Tender documents has followed the EC guidance for structuring the call documents. Staff with procurement expertise were involved from each procurer, supported by a European independent expert on demand-side innovation policy and innovation public procurement – Sara Bedin. The call documents specify all requirements and deadlines in the procurement, and provide supportive materials, such as application templates and model agreements. The procurers follow a value-based approach to the procurement, giving considerable weight to the quality of the tenders. The assessment applied in the project is documented in D7.1 in WP7.Throughout phase 0 of the PCP the project partners have been carrying out dissemination and communication activities as part of WP8. Several adjustments were undertaken to reflect the difficulties in stakeholder engagement arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, which hit to various degrees the procurers in their role as healthcare providers. Despite that, some very positive results have been achieved in the Open Market Consultation and plenty of supplier feedback was received, informing the project specifications. Throughout the phase, the project management was applied to ensure the project results are delivered in high quality and with as little delay as possible (WP9). This included applying Quality Assurance (QA) measures and following clear instructions (e.g. deliverable production processes). Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far) HSMonitor will strongly improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of European healthcare systems by taking up new opportunities for radically improved management of hypertension. Industry will be challenged from the demand side to develop innovative solutions for continuous self-management of the condition. The solutions to be procured will be specified to support a very strong increase in the role and the responsibility of the patient and to optimise their self-management capabilities. All patients will be using devices and systems regularly. The targeted improvements in self-management and care can be expected to be very effective in reducing the incidence of complications. Where interfaces cannot be made completely intuitive, patients’ ICT skills will be enhanced as an integral part of introduction to system use and a dedicated empowerment change management approach. All patients will be able to participate in blended learning programmes and this, with online help, is central to the approach. A key aim is increased adherence of patients and care-givers to evidence-based guidelines, centring on lifestyle change and multidisciplinary teamwork respectively. The evidence base on health outcomes will be massively strengthened by the gathering of action-treatment-outcome data from all patients, and this resource will also be used directly to implement the learning healthcare approach. With patient consent and support, the management of co-morbidities will centre on coordination of multiple treatments using exchange of information between healthcare professionals in the different disciplines.The key impacts resulting from HSMonitor can be summarised as follows:• Applying established path to innovation, with evidence of benefits of disruptive technologies that can support the development of sustainable business models• Increased opportunities for solution uptake across wider international procurement markets• Improved adherence to treatment leading to reduction of complications due to high blood pressure• Reduction of adverse drug events in multimorbid patients with hypertension• Improved prevention and early detection of hypertension in a wider population due to improved awareness and outreach to patients at risk• Implementing personalised decision support & supporting professional co-ordination HSMonitor logo
