THALEA · Telemonitoring and Telemedicine for Hospitals Assisted by ICT for Life saving co-morbid patients in Europe As part of a Patient personalised care program of the EU

A growing body of evidence suggests outcome improvement in Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients by means of telemedicine. At present a highly interoperable, manufacturer-independent telemedicine-platform for detection of ICU-patients at increased risk is missing. Encouraging results in other eHealth-projects influenced the decision to use pre-commercial procurement (PCP), in order to provide best possible solution for THALEA.<br/>Clearly identified demand and strategy detected by international ICU experts, consented by multidisciplinary stakeholders (IT-experts, excellence cluster eHealth, insurance companies and ministries) during pre-consortium meeting ensures a perfect match of demand, strategy and funding instrument in an early phase of the project. Besides inacceptable high mortality in ICU patients, telemedicine has the ability to mitigate problematic pan-European challenges, like demographic changes, shortage of ICU professionals, and scarcity of financial resources.<br/>Bringing market participant and stakeholders (procurers, ICU-specialist, IT-specialist) in close collaboration, PCP within THALEA will create an appropriate common solution fulfilling demands of a telemedical research framework. Focus on interoperability and scalability will lay foundations for future follow-up projects in telemedicine. Compliance with Directive 95/46/EC is granted by limiting access to sensitive data to health professionals with obligation of professional secrecy and data transfer bound to provision of care in a tele-ICU service.<br/>THALEA will help to close a knowledge-gap in Europe as well as to close up to research superiority projects in the US. By PCP, dissemination of this promising technology will be spread in Europe thus helping doctors to save more lives and as a result enable more patients living at home independently. An eHealth PCP-pilot for tele-ICU enhances dissemination of PCP as funding instrument beyond the innovative field of ICU-telemedicine.