Viduet together with UMC Utrecht and Ziekenhuis Gelderse Vallei achieve highest score for design of new European heart failure care

UMC Utrecht and Ziekenhuis Gelderse Vallei, together with healthcare innovation company Medicine Men, have created a design for future integrated European heart failure care. This is being tested in three regions in Spain, Italy and Sweden. The number of heart failure patients is rising rapidly, and people are looking for smart solutions that give patients more control while relieving caregivers. Here, heart failure patients will receive counseling at all stages of their disease, supported by digital technology. The consortium of the three partners achieved the highest score (8.6/10) with its design and is now one of three consortia allowed to further develop their design. Here, Medicine Men’s already existing certified Viduet platform is used as a basis.

This summer, the TIQUE buyer group will make a final selection for two consortia. They may install their platform in said regions for user testing with the research protocol written by UMC Utrecht.

With an aging population and the increase in diseases of affluence, the number of patients with heart failure is also growing rapidly. At the same time, there is pressure on healthcare spending and a shortage of healthcare personnel in all European countries. Within the European Horizon2020 program, the three European regions of Catalonia, Avellino and Västerbotten have launched a tender under the name “TIQUE” for a new form of regional heart failure care. Key goals of TIQUE are to give patients as much self-direction as possible and support them wherever possible through digital technology, such as home measurement, active medication adjustment, e-learning, decision support, virtual care center (regional care center/medical service center), AI chatbots and apps. Family caregivers can take over some of the support from caregivers with the right information. It also considers whether a professional case manager would add value. Special attention is paid to the palliative phase and a focus on patient quality of life.

A major challenge in this project is, that each country has its own healthcare design and reimbursement systems are different. On top of that, the Northern European culture and patient-caregiver relationship is very different than in Southern Europe. The degree of digitization is also very different in the three countries involved. If the partners succeed in developing a universal solution, it could possibly be implemented in several places in Europe.

Prof. Pim van der Harst, head of the Department of Cardiology at UMC Utrecht: “I am delighted that our proposal received the highest score in Phase 2. It is important to take a more holistic view of the care of heart failure patients. In TIQUE, all healthcare organizations work together with the patient and family. This model is universal and can therefore be used in patients with other chronic conditions as well.”

At Hospital Gelderse Vallei, there is much enthusiasm for the regional approach. Thomas Oosterhof, cardiologist at Hospital Gelderse Vallei: “TIQUE was initiated from three Foreign European regions, each with a different healthcare system. The developed platform should be able to work in any country or region. A flexible platform is also very suitable for use in different Dutch regions. I am very happy that we are participating as a partner in this Dutch consortium. This way we can see if it is well deployable for our region and if it connects to the spearhead of Ziekenhuis Gelderse Vallei: nutrition, exercise and sleep.”

Sandra Rozeboom, nursing specialist at Hospital Gelderse Vallei: “Together with Marieke Hijnekamp (heart failure nurse), I am thinking along in the TIQUE project. We see great potential in the Viduet app for both patients and caregivers by supporting the collaboration between patient, caregiver and healthcare professional. This can help in the future in the areas of: Right care in the right place, faster adjustment to optimal medication and support in self-management.”

The Dutch consortium is led by Medicine Men, developer of the Viduet telemedicine platform. In addition to the three consortium partners, the companies UP learning, Mediquest, Aurora Innovation AB, Silo AI (formerly Machine2Learn) and pexlife are participating in this project.

About the TIQUE buyer group

TIQUE, headed by the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau in Barcelona, represents the regions of Catalonia in Spain, Västerbotten in Sweden and the Italian province of Avellino. More information can be found at https://www.tiquepcp.eu/ca/web/tique.

About the partners

UMC Utrecht is an international university medical center with the core functions of care, research and education. With over 12,000 employees, UMC Utrecht, of which the Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital is a part, is one of the largest public healthcare institutions in the Netherlands and the largest employer in the region. Our mission: together we improve people’s health and create the care of tomorrow. Together we create more value because every person counts. https://www.umcutrecht.nl/

Hospital Gelderse Vallei in Ede provides care based on the latest scientific knowledge. Care is high quality, well organized and people-oriented. Together with the patient and other healthcare providers in the network, the hospital works to achieve health gains for the patient. The hospital does this through treatments and prevention of disease, with attention to quality of life. Hospital Gelderse Vallei gives patients tools with which they themselves can build a healthy lifestyle, based on the building blocks: nutrition, exercise and sleep. In doing so, the hospital offers them health benefits for the rest of their lives. www.geldersevallei.nl

Medicine Men in Bunnik has been building self-care applications focused on patients with chronic illnesses requiring home monitoring since 2015. The Viduet platform was developed to provide healthcare providers with the right tools to optimally support and monitor their patients, clients and rehabilitants remotely. Viduet is used within hospitals, general practices, home care and network care for all chronic diseases. Medicine Men’s mission is to return at least 1 million hours of time to healthcare providers by 2030. Viduet won the 2022 National Health Valley Bridge Prize with its transmural COPD solution. For more information, visit https://viduet.nl

Participating companies:

https://uplearning.nl
https://aurorainnovation.com/nl
https://home.mediquest.nl
https:// https://www.silo.ai/
https://www.pexlife.com