The ageing society, the spread of chronic diseases, staff shortages and rising costs all contribute to the sustainability of care becoming an increasingly major challenge. Traditional reforms often remain ineffective because they focus primarily on costs and the volume of care, rather than on the outcomes that care delivers in patients' lives.
This is the perspective the Health Labs4Value project, which was implemented with the support of the Interreg Central Europe programme. The initiative combined the principles of value-based healthcare (VBHC) with the methodology of so-called living labs. During the project, regional living labs were established in five Central European countries – including Hungary – where patients, healthcare professionals and decision-makers worked together to rethink care processes. Representatives from six Central European countries (Slovenia, Germany, Poland, Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary) took part in the project, with the lead partner being the Székesfehérvár-based Central Transdanubian Regional Innovation Agency staff of (KDRIÜ).
„The outcome is not something that should only feature in reports. The outcome is a milestone that truly matters to the individual,” stated Professor Sally Lewis, an internationally recognised expert in value-based healthcare, at the project's closing conference.
Health Labs4Value truly delivered tangible results. In Hungary, the regional Living Lab focused on the patient journey-based redesign of care workflows at TritonLife Private Hospitals. The aim was not to introduce yet more IT systems, but to make care more transparent and predictable while reducing the administrative burden on healthcare workers.
„We did not want to implement isolated experiments, but instead we built living structures that allow healthcare systems to learn and innovate together,” highlighted Dr Ákos Szépvölgyi, Managing Director of KDRIÜ.
Following the closure of the project, the Living Labs will continue to operate, offering an open platform for anyone who wishes to take part in the renewal of healthcare.
You can find further information about the Health Labs4Value project on the official project website, or follow the latest developments on social media:
www.interreg-central.eu/projects/health-labs4value
www.facebook.com/HealthLabs4Value
www.linkedin.com/groups/9346332/
The project is implemented through the Interreg Central Europe Programme, with the support of the European Regional Development Fund, and co-financed by the European Union and the Hungarian State.
The project is co-funded by the European Union under the Interreg Central Europe Programme.