1. Regional ICT based Clusters for
Healthcare Applications and R&D
Integration
Promoting ICT “assisted” models for chronic
diseases management
Olga Renda, Technical Coordinator, e‐health Division,
Signo Motus
Andrea Leto, Project Coordinator, Region of Tuscany ‐
Regional Government. Directorate General for Rights of
Citizenship and Social Cohesion

2. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
“promoting new , or enhancing already existing
sustainable territorial clinical models, ICT‐based, applied
to the management of chronic conditions”
RICHARD OBJECTIVES
territorial models are aimed to exploit territorial facilities for a
better and decentralized service provision

3. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
OUTLINE
The burden of chronic disease and chronic conditions is
growing
One of the greatest challenges that will face health systems globally
in theTwenty-first century will be the increasing burden of chronic
diseases (WHO2002). Greater longevity, “modernization” of
lifestyles, with increasing exposure to many chronic disease risk
factors, and the growing ability to intervene to keep people alive
who previously would have died have combined to change the
burden of diseases confronting health systems.
Chronic conditions are defined by the World Health Organization
(WHO) as requiring “ongoing management over a period of years
or decades ”.

4. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
BACKGROUND: THE CHRONIC CARE MANAGEMENT MODEL
• Empower and prepare patients to manage their health and health care
• Proactive care, programming interventions, using multidisciplinary teams, integrating
primary and secondary care
• Create culture, organization & mechanisms ensuring safety & quality in Self‐care and
self‐Management
• Using ICT for data collection and management ... and for integration

5. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
BIG DISCREPANCY BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT AND
APPLICATION
 It is widely recognized that regional healthcare systems
can greatly benefit from ICT provisions :lessen cost,
improve quality of life, provide equitable access
 More than 20.000 devices/applications have been
developed in Europe but few of them have been deeply
integrated in the board of services offered by local
health units (e.g. hospitals, rehab centres).
 In all of those cases in which the technology or the
service proposed affect the delivery modality, deeply
involving professionals and patients, the process of
integration is much slower and difficult.

6. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
 RICHARD is intended to
 Help the participant regions to more effectively
introduce Tele‐health for the management of Chronic
diseases, trough a Joint Action Plan
 Provide general guidelines for the promotion of
teleheanth models for Chronic Conditions also in
further European regions
WHY RICHARD

7. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
RICHARD IN A NUTSHELL
 Programme: Region of Knowledge Programme
 Coordinator: Tuscany Region – Region of Tuscany ‐
Regional Government. Directorate General for Rights of
Citizenship and Social Cohesion
 Technical Coordinator: Signo Motus S.r.l.‐ Health
Division
 Consortium: 15 partners (4 IT, 3 SE, 4UK, 4PL)
 Total Funding: € 2.750.000
 Start : 01 September 2010
 Duration: 3 years

8. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262PROJECT LOGIC
S
W
O
T
 Tuscany, Yorkshire, Vasterbotten , with advanced experiences in tele‐health for
chronic care management
 1 mentoring region : Lodz, with a high interest on innovation, and a strong
management structure, even though still beginner w.r.t. Chronic Care
management

9. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
Dementia
Diabetes
Diabetes
Stroke
OUR CLUSTERS
Start: 1st September2010
End : 30th October 2013

10. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
IDEAL MODEL: INTEGRATED CARE

11. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
1. To have shared guidelines (a toolkit) to support the
definition of new tele‐health programs and shift from pilot
to mainstream
2. To cross adopt best practices for Tele‐Health and for
Chronic Care management (capitalize models and
experiences)
3. To address the acceptance of ICT among all the
stakeholders through education, dissemination and
information activities.
4. To improve the technical framework and foster research
opportunities
5. To improve the regulatory and financial framework to
support eHealth and to ensure service sustainability
JAP OBJECTIVES

12. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
1. The Tele‐Health Toolkit “Ready Steady Go” to support
the Stakeholders in design develop and deliver a
TeleHealth programme and to support pilots to go on
mainstream.
2. Educational materials preparation (Toolkit information
days)
3. Planned a second version in 2014
4. Validation and Extension started
RESULTS
SHARED GUIDELINES FOR IMPLEMENTATION/ADAPTATION OF TELE‐
HEALTH PROGRAMS: THE ‘READY STEADY GO’ TOOLKIT
THE ‘READY, STEADY, GO’
TELEHEALTH TOOLKIT

13. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
1. Regional Healthcare Managers Study Tours on ICT
applications and information exchange network about tools
and models available, and technical, organizational,
educational issues
2. Set up of a Telemedical system pilot for patients with
diabetes in the Lodz Region
3. Business agreements among the SMEs to cross promote
models and tools
RESULTS
CROSS ADOPT BEST PRACTICES

14. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
1. Held already 3 Research Brokerage Workshops and
last is the current one.
2. Building consortium to address the usage of serious
games for Chronic conditions, Set‐up of a Forum on
Serious Games
3. Validation/Extension of the detailed interoperability
profiles developed within the DALLAS project
(‘Delivering Assisted Living Lifestyles At Scale’)
RESULTS:
IMPROVE TECHNICAL FRAMEWORK, ENABLE COOPERATION

15. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
Raising awareness of the need to increase coherence
among ICT solutions and the legal and financial context
Exploration of new services and business models :
1. Develop Hub model in further regions sharing the business
case for the return on investment in the Hub in terms of
reduced system costs over time.
2. Moving from CLEAR experience
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedd
ed&v=nzLd5sDjB0k) Retail kiosks using telemedicine
technology
3. Analysis of new business model, going to the consumer
market
RESULTS
IMPROVE REGULATORY AND FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK , ENSURE
SERVICES SUSTAINABILITY

16. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
1. Common ground seminars on ICT models an telehealth
2. Exploration of co‐creative innovation tools to create
arenas for innovation where staff (GPs, Nurses,
Technical staff, administrative staff, managers etc), lead
users from other areas, academia and more, meet.
3. Sharing the UK model for encouraging Patient and
Public Involvement in Research “Doing research with
or by the public rather than to, about or for the public”
RESULTS
TO ADDRESS THE ACCEPTANCE OF ICT

17. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
We plan for submitting proposals for following themes:
1. Telehealth and Telerehabilitation (integrated care) for LTCs
2. Implementation of Telehealth (Toolkit development)
3. Serious gaming for Chronic/LTCs
Common Priorities:
1. Avoid costly Accident and Emergency visits and hospital admissions.
2. education and training for patients, carers, healthcare providers etc.
3. personalized care – considering the social, personal, medical and
temporal factors that interact to determine an individual’s health.
4. tackle resistance to change in the health care sector.
5. new business ecosystems , besides the health system, allowingcitizens
empowerment and self management, making Health as sustainable.
6. Empower chronically ill individuals to improve and self‐manage their
health throughout life
GIVE CONTINUITY TO OUR JAP

18. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
SOCIETAL CHALLENGE
 4. Integrated, sustainable, citizen‐centred care will
support the development of new health system
architectures based on integrated care models that are
more closely oriented to the needs of patients, specific
patient groups (e.g. stratified and co‐morbidity) and
European citizens

19. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
SUBTHEMES
 4d Advanced ICT systems and services for Integrated
Care , developing new ICT‐based approaches for
integrated care addressing gaps and hurdles both from
technological and organisational points of view
 4f Citizen engagement in health, wellbeing and
prevention of diseases Empowering a healthy
individual to maintain and self‐manage their health
throughout life. promote a healthy lifestyle, wellbeing,
mental health, self‐care,

20. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
SUBTHEMES
 4g mHealth for disease management how the
individual/patient could be empowered and how the
interventions could be developed to enable the
individual to manage his/her health condition in a way
that utilises the achievements and current development
paths of the IT industry
 4h Patient empowerment Empowering chronically ill
individuals to improve and self‐manage their health
throughout life

21. Seventh Framework Programme
Regions of Knowledge Health
Grant agreement no: 266262
CONTACTS
Olga Renda
Resp. ICT & eHealth Dept. - Signo Motus srl
San Giuliano Terme (PI)
olgarenda@signomotus.it
RICHARD management team
richard.project@regione.toscana.it
www.richardproject.eu