Health services in newways using technology
It is a national goal that welfaretechnology will become an integral part of the service offering in the healthand care services by 2020. The goal is the safe use of security-creatingtechnology that can help more people stay longer in their own homes despiteillness or reduced functional capacity. This application shows how innovationin regional organization and health services realizes “health services innew ways using technologyÓ
Agder consists of 30 municipalities withover 300,000 inhabitants. The municipalities in the region are focusing on theuse of welfare technology in order to meet the challenges of the future in thefield of health and care.
Supported in the Regional Plan Agder, themunicipalities in Agder established a new common structural framework forinter-municipal innovation and interaction in the establishment of the RegionalCoordination Group eHealth and Welfare Technology Agder (RKG). This structurehas made it possible to implement one of Norway’s largest procurement ofsecurity and warning technology, the establishment of “municipal responsecenter service” as a public-public collaboration among the municipalitiesin Agder. Through RKG, themunicipalities are completing a systematic introduction and a comprehensivedevelopment of welfare technology in the municipalities in Agder by 2020.Norwegian municipalities have had little experience with the transition fromindividual testing projects of stand-alone technologies to the introduction of Òcourseof serviceÓ with welfare technology on a large scale.
We believe we have implemented and are currently implementing two innovations that individually contribute to a significant improvement in quality, safety and cost-effectiveness in future municipal health services:
An operational regional network organizationto solve a concrete mission and reach a common goal
a. Acquisition of technology where customers(municipalities)present their orders and specifications jointly to one mainsupplier
b. Establish the municipal response center
c. Ensure systematic introduction of welfare technologyin all municipalities
2) Establishment of a municipal response center for aquality-assured and cost-effective handling of alarms and inquiries
more solution 2)
The municipal response center is part ofthe inter-municipal collaboration in Agder, where an important part of the goalis to free resources in the health and care services, including in home care.This is done by having personnel at the response center follow up and answerand evaluate alarms. They assess whether they can terminate the case bytelephone or if there is a need for further assistance. In the event of needfor further assistance they contact local home health services. This method providesa better quality for the patients with regular services who avoid the personnelassisting them in a procedure or conversation being interrupted by severalalarms that must be answered there and then. It also provides significantrelief for home-care personnel who avoid interruptions in many of the tasksduring a shift. The home care service usually does not have access to essentialinformation about the person who has triggered the alarm, and must often moveout to be on the safe side. This is the realization of health services in newways using technology.