Så svarar Visiba Care på krisen

Visiba Care är en skalbar teknisk plattform som ger vårdorganisationer möjlighet att öppna en eller flera digitala mottagningar. Företaget grundades 2014 som ett svar på en diskussion grundarna hade om varför man upplevde att det var så svårt att få kontakt med vården när man var sjuk. Ingen liknande lösning fanns vid den tidpunkten på den nordiska marknaden och få trodde att digitala vårdbesök skulle kunna ersätta fysiska möten. Idag finns Visiba Care i drygt hälften av de svenska regionerna, både bland privata och offentliga vårdgivare, och dessutom på tre utlandsmarknader. Plattformen används inom många olika vårdverksamheter, både inom primärvård , specialistvård och kommunal vård och omsorg. Under våren och i skuggan av Covid-19-utbrottet har vårdens digitalisering aktualiserats. Det är bråda dagar för de som erbjuder digitala tjänster, men vi har lyckats få en pratstund med Johan som är VD.

Hej Johan Gustafsson vd på Visiba Care och ledamot i Swecares styrelse,

Ni var redan innan Coronautbrottet ett företag på uppgång, men hur har ni påverkats av det pågående Corona-utbrottet?

Det har påverkat oss jättemycket. Vi är ju ett företag som haft en bra tillväxt sedan start, men nu under våren har det formligen exploderat. Vår omsättning har ökat med ca 200 procent.

Vad är det som förändrats?

Det som tidigare har gått i ganska långsam takt har plötsligt genomförts på väldigt kort tid. Vi har upplevt det som att det nästan inte har funnits några bromsar. Det som var planerat att införas över kanske två år, gick plötsligt på en månad. Ser vi enbart till digitalisering, skulle vi nog lugnt kunna säga att kunderna flyttats framåt i tiden ett par år. Det har varit en ganska häftig resa. Framförallt har vi jobbat med uppskalning av digitala vårdmöten. Det har tillkommit några nya kunder, men i Sverige har det främst varit fokus på befintliga kunder. Det vi har kunnat se är att vissa har varit väl förberedda och därför kunnat göra uppskalningen på ett bra sätt, medan andra stod sämre rustade och behövde jobba med det som fanns på plats, ibland en rätt föråldrad teknik. Det ska bli intressant att följa framöver vilka som lyckas bra och vilka som blev lite tagna på sängen.

Ni finns också i andra länder, Norge och Storbritannien framförallt, hur har erfarenheterna varit där?

Efterfrågan har varit väldigt stor. I både Norge och UK har vi fått flera nya kunder och volymerna har ökat kraftigt hos de befintliga. Genomgående har ett problem varit att ingen haft tid att göra en ordentlig analys av vad de verkligen behövde. Läget har ju varit närmast desperat, särskilt i Storbritannien. Man var bara tvungen att hitta en lösning på hur folk skulle kunna komma till vården digitalt. Det innebar också att man varit lite mindre noga med säkerheten. Här sticker Sverige ut lite, då vi här är väldigt måna om säkerheten. Man loggar in med bank-id och det är höga krav på oss som leverantör att skydda informationen. I Storbritannien var det närmast ”strunta i säkerheten, bara ni löser problemet”. Det ska bli intressant att följa hur det utvecklas…

Tror du att det förändrade landskapet och den ökade tillgängligheten av digitala vårdtjänster kommer att bestå när krisen lugnat sig?

Det är jättesvårt att veta förstås. Men i Sverige har vi känslan att det är en mer permanent utveckling som inte kommer gå tillbaka. Vi ser en fortsatt stor efterfrågan. I Norge och UK har vi sett stora ökningar men faktiskt också en antydan att det sjunker ihop lite nu när pandemin lugnat ned sig. Trots en viss tillbakagång kommer det innebära stora skillnader i den digitala tillgängligheten jämfört med tidigare, det är väldigt påtagligt, men det verkar vara en skillnad mot Sverige. Om det har att göra med olika strategier eller högre IT-mognad i Sverige vågar jag inte säga.

Har krisen haft någon negativ påverkan på er och hur ser ni på framtiden post-corona?

Rent affärsmässigt har det enbart inneburit en positiv påverkan om än extremt mycket arbete för medarbetarna. Sedan har vi även påverkats av de problem som uppstått hos våra kunder, t ex brist på rätt utrustning. Helt plötsligt fanns till exempel inte web-kameror och headsets att få tag på…  Sedan påverkas vi ju förstås av att samhället i övrigt är drabbat och att många kunder har en svår situation. Det kommer att finnas en stor vårdskuld lång tid framöver som kan oroa. Vårdskulden kommer vården behöva förhålla sig till och därför ser vi ju också att det kommer bli fortsatt viktigt att arbeta digitalt och effektivt för att beta av denna. För oss innebär det att finnas till hands och stötta vården att lösa problemen genom smarta arbetssätt med hjälp av vår teknik. Jag bedömer att det finns en stor potential där och att vi har den erfarenhet och kunskap som krävs för att bistå i detta arbete.

How Swedish Scale-Ups fit into the Future of Digital Health

Sweden Germany Innovation Partnership: eHealth

One Day in Berlin

Objective

Digital health start-ups and businesses will play a crucial role in transforming health care to better take advantage of the technical progress by developing new innovative products and digital health solutions. Given the challenging regulatory framework of the health care sector but also the high potential, start-ups and businesses in digital health will profit substantially from exchanges, networking and cooperation between each other and with relevant stakeholders. This visit is part of ongoing discussions on discuss how Germany and Sweden can make sure to share our innovative businesses across borders and help them connect to a larger market both within the home countries and abroad.

Swedish Scale-Ups

• Cambio Healthcare Systems
• Coala Life
• KRY / LIVI
• Zenicor Medical Systems

Agenda

Morning - Presentations by German government officials for the Swedish Digital Health Companies

• Overview about the Digital Hub Initiative focusing the Digital Health Hubs by Germany Trade and Invest
• Presentation on the Fast Track for Digital Applications by the Ministry of Health
• Presentation on the Federal Funding Advisory Service at the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy

Networking Lunch at the 

Swedish-German Business Day

Afternoon - Breakout session on eHealth and the German-Swedish Innovation Partnership

• What are the main challenges in the German market
• What are the strengths which Swedish companies could learn from
• How will the new regulatory changes regarding eHealth change the health care landscape
• Which collaborations would be most beneficial in order to ensure German and Swedish innovations can be tested within the existing system
• Next steps: exchange of innovative companies during a Digital Health Camp in Q2 2020

Informal dinner with representatives from 

Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Main Take-Away

The upcoming Digital Care Act (Digitale Versorgung Gesetz – DVG) is a new administrative pathway to accelerate digitalisation and initiate "fast track" to reimbursement. It is only the first of many steps that Germany will take in order to harness new digital opportunities in order to provide citizens with the best health care (and preventive measures) while ensuring data and patient protection. There is scope for Swedish digital companies to be part of this process as the policy landscape evolves.

Thank you!

We could not have arranged this without the support of the team at GTAI and Business Sweden in Berlin! Look to this space for upcoming events (most likely April and/or May 2020) or get in touch if you would like more information.

Ethiopia - Right in time

Last week a Swedish healthcare delegation, headed by the Swedish Minister for Health and Social Affairs, visited Addis Abeba, Ethiopia. A delegation trip to Ethiopia had been in the planning for a long time, but the timing has never been better than now.

A large market with a growing middle class, strong economic growth, good historical relations to Sweden and government focusing on improving healthcare were the reasons behind the decision. The Noble Peace prize being awarded to Prime minister Abiy Ahmed just a few weeks before our delegation just made it all feel even more right in time.

A group of 37 delegates led by our Minister for Health and Social Affairs, Lena Hallengren joined this triple helix delegation. This included representatives from three government agencies; the Public Health Agency, the Medical Products Agency and the National Board of Health and Welfare, and one academic institution, Karolinska Institutet.  Along came seven companies; Arjo, AstraZeneca, Atlas Copco Medical Gas, Elekta, Getinge, Human Bridge and Mimer Medical. The delegation was co-organized by Swecare, the Embassy of Sweden in Addis Abeba, Business Sweden in Nairobi, the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs along with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

We had a few intense and efficient days. The first day was planned to set the scene of the Ethiopian health care sector starting with a study visit to Black Lion Hospital, the country´s oldest referral hospital with large expansion plans. After a joint introductory meeting, the delegation was divided in three groups to visit the Pediatric emergency, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health and Oncology/Cancer center.  After the visit to the hospital, which is just across the street from the Swedish Embassy, we had a working lunch in the garden of the ambassador´s residence with the Ethiopian Food and Drug Authority. Their Director General Heran Gerba explained the role of their agency as an entry point for all companies in the sector to enter the market and that their new proclamation from February 2019 is now being put in place to enable a smoother registration for companies. She also mentioned that a digital registration is rolled out to smooth things further. The lunch continued with one-to-one questions from the companies to her colleagues while she sat down with the Director General of our Medical Products Agency and discuss possible collaboration.

The last meeting of the day was at Ministry of Health with the Minister of Health Dr. Amir Aman to listen in on his plans and thoughts about the status of the Ethiopian health system challenges and opportunities. We got a nice surprise at 3pm when we were all asked outside and had a small exercise/stretch together with ministry staff. This is part of the daily routine at the Ministry. After the break we got presentations from several department heads on their responsibilities and agenda for the future.

The day ended with a reception at the ambassador´s residence with a mixed crowd of international organizations, health care professionals and international NGO´s.  

The second day´s main event was our conference Sweden - Ethiopia Health Care Conference: Public and Private Cooperation for a Sustainable Health System. The event was held at Sheraton Hotel and gathered more than 90 attendants. The conference took off with welcoming remarks by Mr. Torbjörn Pettersson, Ambassador of Sweden to Ethiopia, followed by Dr. Munir Kassa  from the Ministry of Health (stepping in for Minister Dr. Amir that was called in to another meeting last minute) and  the Swedish Minister for Health and Social Affairs, Ms. Lena Hallengren. This set the scene of the conference with the context of the Swedish and Ethiopian health care and global challenges that we have to combat together.

A keynote speech was then held by Director General Ebba Abate from the Ethiopian Public Health Institute explaining the four major strategic missions of the EPHI; public health emergency management, putting research and knowledge into practice, capacity building and developing the national laboratory system.

Dr. Johan Carlson, Director General, Public Health Agency of Sweden was the next speaker and talked among other things about anti-microbial resistance, the disease burden in Sweden and how it differs with level of education. Dr. Carlson concluded with some words about the Sustainable Development Goals, and especially goal no. 3 on Good health for all at all ages.

After coffee break and an VIP tour of the company expo for the two ministerial representatives, the morning continued with interesting presentations from the participating Swedish government agencies and their Ethiopian counterparts on the health system topics of Access to safe and effective pharmaceuticals & medical products, Access to good health and care for all; the importance of data and guidelines and Access to knowledge and know how, each followed by a panel discussion by the participating companies and Ethiopian speakers.

The Conference ended with a delicious networking lunch, during which a lot of interesting discussions regarding the Swedish solutions presented, and the challenges in Sweden and Ethiopia took place.

After lunch, the business delegation went on to MCM General Hospital, which collaborates with the Nordics for their burns treatment unit. We met among others the general manager Dr. Young Dae Kwon and Dr. Morten Kildal from Akademiska hospital in Uppsala, who visits regularly, and learnt about their inspiring model for collaboration with regional hospitals to improve burns care in Ethiopia.

As the last thing on Tuesday evening we had a quick summary meeting with Minister Lena Hallengren and then went to the cultural restaurant at Capital hotel were the delegation had a nice Ethiopian buffet and was entertained by Ethiopian music and dance – some of us even got to try dancing.

Ethiopian Pharmaceutical Supply agency received us on the third day and showed us their warehouse where we had a Q&A session with Mr. Tesfalem, EPSA's Deputy Director General for Outbound Logistics

Across the street from EPSA is St Paul's Hospital that was our second meeting of the day. The visit started with a presentation on the hospital and their expansion plans, followed by study visits to different departments. 

Lunch was combined with a wrap-up session to hear what the participants thought of the program, and how they will follow up the leads they have gotten during the delegation.

The very last meeting was at Ethio-Tebib Hospital, a private facility with general and specialist departments. Among the specialties provided are Internal Medicine, Surgery, Gyn-ob, Pediatrics, Orthopedics, Radiology, Dialysis unit, and Emergency & Critical Care Medicine. 

From the wrap-up meeting we know that the participants got valuable insights and many contacts for possible collaboration and business to follow up on. The next step for Swecare will be a follow-up meeting in Stockholm at the end of January/begining of February next year to check what progress has been made and understand how we can further assist in deepening the collaboration with Ethiopia.

Flanders - inspirational weekend reading - Belgium part I

The Future of E-health in Belgium

This week we had the opportunity to hold a seminar together with Flanders Investment & Trade to  explore the latest digitalization partnership opportunities within the Belgian healthcare system. The interest for the seminar was high and it was very nice to see so many Swecare members represented; Zenicor Medical Systems, Raytelligence, Camanio Care, WeCare AB, Predicare, Doctrin and Karolinska Institutet.

Mikael Larsson, foreign investment advisor opened the seminar with a short introduction of Flanders Investment & Trade, which is a government agency supporting companies interested in investing in Flanders with assistance and information. They have more than 70 regional offices worldwide.

Elucidating the Belgian healthcare system within a couple of hours is no easy task but invited guest speaker Peter Raeymakers, from Zorgnet Icuro, gave an excellent presentation.

To understand the basics, he opened the presentation by letting us know that Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium. The capital of Flanders is Brussels, which is also the capital of Belgium and home to the headquarters of the EU and NATO. Flanders has its own parliament and government. Flanders, despite not being the biggest part of Belgium by area, is the area with the largest population (68.5%). 7,876,873 out of 11,491,346 Belgian inhabitants live in Flanders or the bilingual city of Brussels.

Present-day Flanders (dark green) shown within Belgium and Europe.
Brussels is considered part of the geographical region but is politically separate.

The Belgian healthcare system is mainly organised into two levels: federal and regional. Responsibility for healthcare policy is shared between the federal government, the Federal Public Service Social Security, the National Institute for Sickness and Disability Insurance (INAMI), and the Dutch-, French-, and German-speaking community Ministries of Health. The federal government is responsible for regulating and financing the compulsory health insurance, determining accreditation criteria, financing hospitals and so-called ‘heavy’ medical care units, as well as legislation covering different professional qualifications, and registration of pharmaceuticals and their price control. The regional governments are responsible for health promotion, maternity and child health services, some aspects of elderly care, implementation of hospital accreditation standards, and financing of hospital investment.

The Belgium healthcare system is divided into state and private sectors, with fees payable in both, funded by a combination of Belgian social security contributions and health insurance funds. With mandatory health insurance, patients are free to choose their own medical professionals and places of treatment. Patients generally pay costs upfront and are reimbursed a proportion of the charges for medical and dental fees, hospital care and treatment, maternity costs and prescriptions through their Belgian health insurance fund. Doctors work in public and/or private settings. Dentists are almost all private. Hospitals and clinics are private and usually managed by universities, religious organizations or mutuelle/ziekenfonds.

In 2013, Belgium’s total health expenditure was 10.2% of the GDP, which is 6^th highest among the EU-15 (OECD, 2015). The Belgian health system is primarily funded through social security contributions and taxation. Public sector funding as a percentage of total expenditure on healthcare fluctuates around 70%.

1/3 of the Belgian hospitals are operating in the red and that is due to the increasing cost of healthcare. Another substantial factor in Belgium, are the costs of medical professionals. This is a wake-up call to restructure funding and provision approaches.

As Belgium is on the verge of reforming its health care system, it is the perfect moment for Swecare members to engage in this transformation and benefit from new opportunities. With 11 million inhabitants, an ageing population which increases the need for collaboration in efficient healthcare, couple with the fast pace of technological change, Belgium needs to invest in innovation.

The Swedish think tank Health Consumer Powerhouse (HCP) has been comparing 35 European care systems since 2005 and presented a study in February this year showing that Belgium has risen to the 5th spot in the European health index, up from 8. Belgium is lauded for its quick and good treatments, high levels of child vaccinations, and the affordability of health care. Long waiting lists in mental health care and a lack of information are identified as points where action should be taken.

Now, start-ups are rising in the e-health sector. They provide solutions that combat the healthcare challenges of today:

• People are making worse lifestyle decisions with higher risks of chronic diseases as a result
• Rising costs creates friction to democratize healthcare for everyone
• Seniors are getting older and older

Just to name a few examples of the challenges, Belgium aims to be the place-to-be for HealthTech innovations, attracting talent and innovations from all over the world.

Belgium has big plans for implementing E-health in the healthcare system. It’s now possible to share medical information and ‘documents’ of patients on secured platforms. It is termed the EPD (Elektronisch Patiënten Dossier) in Belgium. Every caregiver will have access to the relevant information of their patient. Easier access supports multidisciplinary care and drives collaboration between the specialists. These elements increase the quality of care. Patients are included in this e-health transformation. They can have access to their medical records, which helps them to be on track with their health. Furthermore, communication between patients, caregivers and other stakeholders will improve with the EPD. Electronic platforms ensure processes to run even smoother.
However, while many health data are being collected and published in Belgium, some data are collected but are not used (e.g. morbidity indicators), while for other areas such as nursing, primary care, psychiatry, elderly and nursing homes, and non-reimbursed payments only limited data are available. In addition, the coordination to integrate the data available for policy decision should be strengthened.

Peter explained more about the national project “eHealth Hubs & MetaHub” coordinated by the eHealth platform is meant to make medical results from hospitals (and in the near future medical laboratories) available to any caregiver who currently is treating the patient. For detailed information see https://www.ehealth.fgov.be/nl/zorgverleners/online-diensten/hubs-metahub. This system supplements the traditional system of addressed ‘email type’ communication to individual referrers.

Before medical data about a patient can be shared, that patient has to grant the “eHealth informed consent” (see http://www.patientconsent.be). Further, care providers declare a therapeutic relationship with the patient.

Communication between the hubs and between external physicians and a hub is according to the KMEHR standard: https://www.ehealth.fgov.be/standards/kmehr/content/page/web-services

M-Health Belgium
Peter also talked about mHealthBELGIUM, which is the Belgian platform for mobile applications that are CE-marked as a medical device. It offers all the relevant and necessary information to patients, healthcare professionals and healthcare institutions regarding these mobile applications. The information on this platform covers CE-marking, GDPR, compliance with security and authentication rules and how the app is financed. mHealthBELGIUM is an initiative of the Federal Belgian Government. This platform of 24 selected projects are operated by Agoria & beMedTech, in close cooperation with NIHDI, FAMHP & the eHealth Platform.

The Belgian government with Maggie De Block (minister of Public Health) at the forefront sees these life-changing opportunities. Her aim is to incorporate M-health into the healthcare. But before M-health solutions are implemented, they will go through a validation pyramid. The validation pyramid analyses whether an application is safe, secure and provides benefit to the patient, caregiver or the healthcare system. That is to say healthcare is one of the slowest sectors to adopt healthcare technology. Therefore, to fast-track these applications, this evaluation model will ‘test’ and ‘fail solutions quicker. No more delays of valuable innovations accessing healthcare.

De Block has performed the validation pyramid on 24 M-health applications and published the first results. As expected, the main benefit is that patients are more involved in their health maintenance. They are more willing to follow through with their treatment, feel supported and safely tracked by a caregiver on distance. Giving the patient control, also drives healthier choices in lifestyle.

Peter mentioned that there’s a good chance for you to enter the Belgian market with your health app, but it must be a medical device. Please visit; www.mhealthbelgium.be and read the FAQs and how to apply, etc.

Peter represented Zorgnet Icuro which is a network of health care organizations, general hospitals, elderly care clinics with around 775 members and employing around 129.000 people. Their goal is to exchange information, knowledge and ideas in health care. And to discuss several issues in the healthcare sector.

Before the seminar ended, we had the pleasure to listen to Collective Minds Radiology AB a small start-up which sells a platform for Radiologists. They’ve just entered the Belgian market by landing on a right contact through LinkedIn and had the same morning signed a contract with AZ West Hospital in Veurne and will during next week introduce their platform to other hospitals in the region.

Amber Ryckewaert from Flanders Investment & Trade wrapped up and invited all participants and members of Swecare to join them on a 2-day study visit to Flanders some time during week, 21-25 October 2019. The outline is not ready yet as they wish You to come with your wishes! So, if you’re interested in entering the Belgian market please contact Amber RYCKEWAERT, amber.ryckewaert@flanderstrade.com for more information!

We say a big thank you to Flanders Investment & Trade for making this an interesting event for our members!

Patienten som en resurs i vården, del 2

Swecare vill börja med att tacka alla som kom till seminariet. Det är härligt att se att temat verkar nå ut till den grupp av företag och aktörer som vi vill involvera, det är självklart flera aktörer vi vill involvera men konceptet att samla både klassiska medtechbolag och lite mer tech-rotade bolag samt vårdaktörer har gett spännande samtal på mingel. Den här gången var de lite drygt 40 personer som kom. Superkul! Tack Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset i Solna för lån av det fina lokalerna. Vilken utsikt! Anna Sahlström Head of International Affairs på Karolinska Universitetssjukhusets började med att hälsa oss alla välkomna.

Som första talare var vi glada att välkomna statssekreterare Maja Fjaestad. Med sin teknikbakgrund och intresse inom området beskrev hon bland annat hur utveckling av teknik leder och har lett till frihet på olika sätt. Hon lyfte även prioriteringar inom hälso- och sjukvårdsområdet för regeringen. Några inspel från hennes presentation var; teknopolitik – teknik som används eller designas för att uppnå politiska mål, hur man kan använda medborgargenererad data kring sådant som skulle ta staten evigheter att samla in samt att vården måste bli en attraktiv arbetsplats, både attrahera folk att börja arbeta inom vården men också få folk att stanna kvar.

Näst på tur var Roger Molin, f.d. analytiker på SKL, som på ett målande sätt presenterade var våra framtida stora utmaningar ligger samt hur tekniken kan lösa problemen. En viktig aktör som är känslig för demografiska förändringar är våra kommuner och landsting. Då demografiskt betingade behov innebär stora kostnader för institutioner som skola och barnomsorg är det inte nödvändigtvis den ofta utmålade äldre delen av befolkningen. Sätt till antal är de få till skillnad från de 120 000 barn som föds per år. Vi förväntas ha en befolkning på 11 miljoner 2028 en befolkningsökning som sätter stora utmaningar på vårt välfärdsystem. Roger pekar på att vårdköer kan kortas bara genom att använda tekniken rätt. Låt sjukdomsanamnesen och diagnostisering göras av ”datorer” och bjud in flera experter till digitalt möte med patienten för att kunna ge individinriktad prevention.

Angelica Frithiof som är Ordförande för Strategiska patient- och närståenderådet på Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset var näst upp att tala om hur man arbetar inkluderande med patienter. Ett av de tydligaste signalerna från Angelica var att det räcker inte med att lyssna in patienternas åsikter, man måste agera på det patienterna säger.

Efter det gav två av våra medlemsbolag sina företagspitchar på hur deras lösningar verkligen använder patienten och patientens bästa i sitt arbete.

Först upp var Ulf Kindefält, VD på Kontigo Care, som är en AI baserad beroendeplattform, deras lösning ger ”patienten” stöd 24/7. De har redan avtal med 96 kommuner i Sverige men det går rasande fort så snart är nog Sverige täckt och resten av världen på agendan. Grannländerna är först ut.dan.

Hannes Palm, Head of Business Development på FRISQ lät oss lyssna på hur de underlättar för vården genom digitaliserade vårdplaner och samtidigt lagt in delar som involverar patienten och ger dem insyn i hela processen. Det är framförallt värdefullt vid diagnoser då du har en längre kontakt med sjukvården.

Det gav alla bra inspel till intressanta diskussioner för minglet efter. Vi ser redan framemot nästa träff, datum kommer inom kort!

  

A new initiative - Welcome Gathering for New Members

On January 21st we launched a new initiative – a networking event for newly entered Swecare members. The interest for this event was very positive and we welcomed 15 member companies this time!

The outline of the meeting was to connect members together, get to know them, their business better and invite them to get a better understanding of Swecare’s core business and how we can support them in their internationalization process.

During the gathering, the members had a chance to hear testimonials and tips from representatives of the board and members who have been with us for a while and how they use the platform Swecare offers.

Niclas Jacobson, Deputy Director, Ministry of Health and Social Affairs presented the governments work on export promotion, Per Nylund, Vice President Global Strategic Sales, Elekta and Christian Kinch, CEO, Bactiguard talked about how they utilize Swecare and official export promotion work from their company perspective.

Patrik Sundström, Head of eHealth, Swedish Association for Local Authorities and Regions (SKL) and their view on partnerships as key to drive sustainable improvement, innovation and growth and Pavan Asalapuram, CEO, EMPE Diagnostics was also invited to talk but due to unforeseen circumstances they could not make it this time. We look forward to listen to them another time!

Thereafter, we opened the floor for a round of introductions of the invited members: ADDI Medical, Advokatbyrån Gulliksson, Biomedex, Byon8 AB, Centigo AB, Docly Healthcare AB, EMPE Diagnostics AB, Fillauer Europe AB, Gnosco AB, Kontigo Care, MediRätt, Minnovation International AB, Sirona Health Solutions, Stiftelsen Choice and the Swedish Standards Institute.



It was interesting to hear about their mission and their needs in their internationalization.

Swecare has a broad network where academia, public sector (including the government), and private sector jointly address health care challenges. We strongly believe that through close collaboration in tackling common challenges from multiple angles increases our international competitiveness and strengthens Swedish health care.

As one of our members said yesterday; “Swecare is what you make of it, take advantage!” He is absolutely correct - Swecare is a useful and cost-effective tool to create export possibilities for Swedish health care. We act as a door opener and create platforms through which you can access your counterparts across the globe. We look forward to acting as a key in unlocking new business opportunities for you. It was lovely to see so many of them joined together!

Premiär för "Så blir patienten en ovärderlig resurs" – första delen av en seminarieserie

I onsdags var det premiär för Swecare's nya seminarieserie kring hur patienten kan vara en resurs i vården och hur man genom att göra patienten mer delaktig också kan nå en effektivare vård som alla vinner på.

Ämnet har väckt stor nyfikenhet bland både nya och gamla medlemmar och det var fullt ös när City Life Konferens & möten fylldes med deltagare, företagspitchar och mingelsugna. Efter julfika så blev det dags att kicka igång "Så blir patienten en ovärderlig resurs" med en inspirationspresentation av Stefan Vlachos, verksamhetschef på Innovationsplatsen på Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset. Stefan som har mer än 24 års erfarenhet av sjukvård, IT/telekom och media/underhållning väckte stort intresse och lyckades engagera publiken med sin tänkvärda presentation där han lyfte fram "den stora frågan" - hur bemöta befolkningen, hur kan man se på nya sätt att kommunicera med patienten.

"Patienten är den viktigaste råvaran i produktionen av vård"

Stefan gjorde jämförelsen med hur banksektorn revolutionerats med hjälp av BankID och att vi inom vården står inför en liknande situation där områden som klassiska öppettider för vårdcentraler ifrågasätts. Just den bakgrunden att den traditionella vården sätts på prov för att anpassas till nya beteendemönstren la en bra grund för att sedan få lyssna in på spännande bolag som arbetar med smarta lösningar.

Därefter blev det företagspitchar från några av våra medlemsbolag kring hur de på olika sätt arbetar med patienten.

Först ut var Brighter med sin briljanta lösning för diabetes patienter. Petra Kaur på Brighter visade hur deras ekosystem är uppbyggt utifrån patienten och hur man genom att använda Actiste kan göra kostnadsbesparingar i vården.

Näst på tur var det Josef Murad som är grundare och VD på Byon8 som presenterade. Byon8 är ett av Swecares nyaste tillskott bland medlemmar. Josef började på ett träffsäkert sätt att fråga publiken hur många som har barn och om de barnet varit sjuk någon gång. Med sin fråga fångade han nästan alla i publiken. Det han vill belysa var hur svårt det är i en traditionell vårdcentralmiljö att uppmärksamma mer ovanliga diagnoser, men med hjälp av deras verktyg Neo Health som använder artificiell intelligens som underlag får man en bra grund att fatta sina beslut baserat på samt tips på eventuella kompletterande tester att ta för att utesluta olika utfall. De har utvecklat en plattform som både ger stöd till patienten när den ska söka vård och till vårdgivaren i sitt vardagliga arbete.

Marie Bergholm från WeCare visade hur man med deras system samlar in patienternas upplevelser av ett vårdbesök och hur frågorna på ett enkelt sätt även ställs om de vill vara med och utveckla vården generellt. Efter den genomgången kom Pelle Snårlid upp och presenterade hur vårdgivaren får en veckosammanställning av resultaten och på så vis kan följa upp och förbättra vården som ges löpande. Det här för med en ny dimension på uppföljning och förbättringsarbete på vårdcentraler och vårdinrättningar.

Daniel Taub och Nina Sellberg från ADDI Medical presenterade sin plattform som på ett smidigt sätt samlar och sammanställer information från appar och wearables för att kunna förmedla den på ett tryggt och säkert sätt till vården. I dagsläget är det många olika system som sänder in information till vården men för att detta ska vara tidseffektivt för vården och lätthanterligt är en lösning som ADDI Medical efterlängtad.

Kenneth Jacobsson från Praktikertjänst fick det tuffa uppdraget att berätta om hur en redan exciterande vårdgivare tar sig an morgondagens utmaningar, vilket han gjorde med finess. Praktikertjänst väljer att utnyttja situationen till något positivt. Genom att vilja vara både en attraktiv vårdgivare och arbetsgivare blir det digitala lösningarna väldigt viktiga, deras initiativ heter Praktikertjänst24 och har utvecklats i ett samarbete med Doctrin. De är i gång på sju av sina mottagningar men kommer under 2019 rullas ut i storskala.

Sammanfattningsvis kan vi på Swecare säga att vi är väldigt nöjda med seminariet och de duktiga presentatörerna. De är kul att samla medlemmar som inte alltid ses annars och för oss att arbeta lite tillsammans inom ett område som berör i stort sett alla våra aktörer. Vi kommer som nämnt ovan fortsätta på temat från olika håll och vinklar med syfte att samla aktörer och hitta nya beröringspunkter med varandra. Om du sitter på ett briljant förslag till talare, ämne att ta upp, eller frågeställning att belysa så hör av er till någon av oss på kansliet så bollar vi vidare!

Workshop on Nordic Sustainable Healthcare in collaboration with NCSH

With funding from Nordic Innovation, the Nordic Center for Sustainable Healthcare, NCSH is writing a Nordic White paper on sustainable healthcare. During the project they will give an introduction to sustainability within Nordic healthcare, put it in a global context as well as point to areas of certain interest and future innovation areas. To gather information and best practice examples NCSH had invited hospitals, suppliers and other stakeholders to workshops in all Nordic countries. In Stockholm, Sweden this was done in collaboration with Swecare. The day was started with an introduction to the project by Linnea Turnstedt and Daniel Eriksson from NCSH and a short presentation from Swecare on the global demand on Nordic solutions in this sector.

After which Arvid Løken from Nordic Innovation presented their Welfare Solutions program, and how Nordic companies can benefit from participating. After which we listened to company pitches from sustainable companies from Sweden, Denmark and Finland.

To get the perspective of the procurers on the role and need of sustainability Gustav Eriksson, Head of Environmental Departement at Karolinska University Hospital and Charlotta Brask, Head at Sustainability at Stockholm County Council, and Linn Josefsson, Upphandlingsmyndigheten presented some mindboggling stats and the take-home message that right now facilities energy consumption is optimized but on the utilities and medical devices the potential energy savings are enormous. The need is there, the solutions available, so lets close the chasm for a better future!