Pilot for the effective health monitoring in remote areas (Mobinet GP)

The project introduces the provision of value-added healthcare services in the Greek rural areas. The success of the project lies on its impact on the quality of lives of the end-users, the citizens/patients. The Mobinet GP pilot has been designed with the aim to facilitate healthcare professionals in completing every-day tasks and providing quality services to all citizens. It is being implemented by the health units that operate under the 2nd Regional Healthcare Authority of the Region of Central Macedonia so as to enhance access to specialized services in remote areas. The project generates significant social benefits and enables healthcare professionals to allocate their time in an efficient and effective manner, as they are able to manage more patients, since telemonitoring allows the simultaneous monitoring of the health status of multiple patients. Patient management and also, data management for each patient is improved, facilitating medication management and the completion of administrative tasks for the healthcare professionals.

Description of target users and groups

- Chronic patients in remote areas and citizens in need of health services, as they are able to receive at the place of their residency specialized healthcare services (otherwise provided only in hospital in urban centers) - GPs in remote areas, as they enjoy simultaneous consultations with specialized healthcare professionals - Specialized doctors in hospitals, as they are able to treat more patients in the same time from their office

Description of the way to implement the initiative

The programme was supported (sponsorship) by Vodafone Greece, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility Programme.

Technology solution

Technology choice: Proprietary technology

Main results, benefits and impacts

The pilot network implementation for the effective health monitoring in remote areas aims at the: - Provision of advanced healthcare services, regardless of geographical limitations - Preventive medicine - Efficient human resourse management (for the healthcare providers) - Scientific personnel facilitation and diffusion of specialized knowledge Before the project implementation, citizens in need of specialized healthcare services had to wait for weeks for an appointment with specialized doctors, at the urban-central hospital. Consequently, they needed to travel at least 60 km (quite difficult for the elderly), wait in queues for the test results, etc. With this project, they save time and money and receive feedback from experts. The end-user satisfaction and acceptance of the project leads also to an increased demand for its continuity. The project generates significant cost benefits for the patients and on the long run for the hospital, as the later saves resources (expert time and/or hospital beds). In addition, it contributes to the well-being of the citizens in the rural areas.

Return on investment

Return on investment: Not applicable / Not available

Lessons learnt

Lesson 1 - Selecting the right people to be involved is a critical success factor to every project implementation. Especially, when it comes to applying new methods or systems, as in the Mobinet GP pilot project, recruiting people familiar to or interested in new technologies and practices and providing further motives for involvement is essential for the following reasons: - The participants interested in the new applications are self-motivated and thus, willing to work towards the achievement of the project goals: in our project case the GPs interested in the e-health applications are more enthusiastic and willing to share views and provide valuable feedback - Provision of further motives (i.e. know-how transfer, scientific knowledge diffusion, self-esteem, etc) contributes to more active involvement: in our project case the ability of the GPs and experts to proceed in scientific work based on project data and interim outcomes - The project participants that are interested in carrying out the project also contribute to effective dissemination of the project outcomes. Lesson 2 - The commitment of the management of the organizations involved in the project is also a critical success factors as it ensures a) proper allocation of recourses for the effective project implementation, b) support throughout the whole process, c) provision of motives to the participants, d) strong collaboration and dissemination of the results. Lesson 3 - Ease of use, system reliability and availability of the service are some of the critical factors that lead to a successful project implementation. The attractiveness of the new systems or methods reassures an active involvement of the users, and -much more important- the user’s satisfaction and acceptance. Scope: Regional (sub-national)