Calls for tender :: Assessing the effectivemess of telemedicine applications - SMART 2008/0064

Methodology to assess telemedicine applications

Deadline: 18 August 2008

(16/05/2008) The study should provide accurate and up-to-date information on telemedicine applications in use in Europe, with a particular focus on cross-border solutions. The study will also need to identify enablers and obstacles to the deployment of telemedicine applications and provide an initial overview of national policies in telemedicine.

Illness prevention and disease management need to be improved and a more active participation of patients in the process of personalised care should be enabled

The study will act as a benchmark document on how and to what extent telemedicine applications have been deployed in healthcare systems and it will provide a structured framework to assess the effectiveness of telemedicine applications and their contribution to quality of care. The study will be a key instrument to supporting the activities of the European Commission in the area of Telemedicine, in particular to complement the forthcoming Commission initiative on "Telemedicine and innovative ICT tools for Chronic Disease Management", included in the Commission work programme 2008.

The main expected outcome of the study is a proposed methodology for assessing the effectiveness of telemedicine services. The development of such methodology will begin with:

a) A thorough and exhaustive review of literature (including grey literature) of existing studies on impacts, benefits and costs of implementation of telemedicine services. The review should consider qualitative and quantitative study results;
b) An evaluation of the suitability of currently used Health Technology Assessment (HTA) methods in the context of telemedicine.

The study will analyse the results from (a) and (b) above and will draw conclusions that will lead to the definition of a methodology for assessing systematically the effectiveness of telemedicine applications, in relation to efficiency (i.e. time and resources) and improvement in quality of care and clinical outcomes (i.e. reduced unnecessary hospitalisations; reduce length of hospitalisation; optimisation of medical treatments etc.). The analysis should consider such aspects on a short, medium and long term basis.

By developing such methodology the study will provide guidance on how to best to develop and validate telemedicine applications and serve as basis for technology assessment and creation of evidence base.

It is expected that the results of the study will contribute to building a more coherent and reliable set of evidences on the extent to which telemedicine can help tackle the challenges faced by healthcare systems, in which therapeutic areas and under which conditions. In a longer term, it is expected, that the results of the study will contribute to increasing the confidence and acceptance of users, policy makers and payers in telemedicine solutions.

The study should preferably cover all key published telemedicine research, but in particular any studies conducted in EU Member States, Iceland and Norway.

The tenderer must propose its preferred approach on how to perform the tasks. However, it is essential that the definition of the methods to assess the effectiveness of telemedicine applications is based on users' needs. For this purpose appropriate involvement of the medical profession, payers and health authorities should be well reflected in the working methods. A validation phase has to be included also.

Official Journal 04.06.2008 - 2008/S 107-142555 - Tender SMART 2008/0064

Pre-Information Notice O.J. 2008/S 53-071336

Further clarifications regarding the Tender Specifications or the Service Contract can be requested at infso-h1@ec.europa.eu. A F.A.Q. will then be published in this website and updated regularly.

SMART 2008-0064 - CORRIGENDUM (20/06/2008) (21 Kb)
SMART 2008-0064 - Draft Service Contract (75 Kb)
SMART 2008-0064 - Invitation to tender (22 Kb)
SMART 2008-0064 - Tender Specifications (182 Kb)
SMART 2008/0064 - FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (14-08-2008) (58 Kb)
Service contract Contract notice 142555-2008 (61 Kb)

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