New project funded by Horizon 2020:

The CareMatrix project has come to life through a multinational effort made by a consortium of seven partners from four countries. Two of the partners are Norway Health Tech, a not-for profit health cluster and Vestre Viken HF, one of the biggest health regions in Norway, providing hospital services to more than 500 000 people in 22 municipalities.

– At Vestre Viken HF we want to contribute to the development and testing of new innovations that contribute to a better health service. We are establishing a test bed where we want to lower the threshold to engage in business collaborations, says head of research and innovation at Vestre Viken HF, Kristine Kleivi Sahlberg.

Without sufficient tools to combine the information about diagnosis, treatment and illness development, the consequences can be dire. Today, important information is contained in silos and hard to gather to get the full overview of the patient’s medical history. The consequence: patient suffers, and the healthcare personnel are deprived of the opportunity to give the best possible care.

The objective is to encourage the development and validation of breakthrough solutions. This needs to be developed in close dialogue between people with multimorbidity, care providers and the industry.

In the current situation, there is no integrated platform addressing patients with these conditions. Project manager, Bent-Håkon Lauritzen in Norway Health Tech says the CareMatrix will create exciting opportunities for the industry.

– Innovative technology is key to overcome the obstacles that patients with multimorbidity and the hospitals are experiencing today. But there needs to be “an engine” that can facilitate, initiate, and connect the needs with the solutions. This should be based on patients and healthcare personnel’s experiences and input, together with the industry’s innovative work. As a part of the project consortium, we are looking forward to assist in this process, says Bent-Håkon Lauritzen in Norway Health Tech.

Facts: Multimorbidity

• In Europe, over 50 million people suffer from multimorbidity.
• Recent reviews find that people with multimorbidity experience a range of system and professional-related issues with care delivery.
• In part, this is because current investments in process-based provision means delivering healthcare within single diagnoses tracks or silos.

Facts: The CareMatrix project

• The CareMatrix project is an European H2020 Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) for integrated care solutions, aiming to address the multimorbidity matrix in ageing populations, funded by GA 964370.
• The project is a collaboration between Vestre Viken HF, Norway Health Tech, Innovation Skåne, Skåne Läns Landsting, Stichting International Foundation for Integrated Care in Luxembourg and Servicio Vasco de Salud Osakidetza and Fundacion Vasca De Innovacion EInvestigacion Sanitarias in Spain.
• The project will span over a four year period

Do you want to know more? Go to the project’s website: https://carematrix.eu/