Assessing the Impact of Integrated Personal Health and Care Services: The Need for Modelling

Abstract

This report contains the main findings of the scoping and exploratory research carried out in the course of 2010 by the SIMPHS research team (part of the TIESC Action within the Information Society Unit at IPTS) on the broadly defined issue of assessing the micro and macro impact of Integrated Personal Health and Social Care Services. SIMPHS, which stands for Strategic Intelligence Monitor of Personal Health Systems, is a three-year project collaboration between IPTS and Unit H1 (ICT for Health) of the European Commission’s Directorate General Information Society. While this work is an integral part of ongoing research activities at IPTS, its strategic relevance has increased in the run up to the launch of the 2011 European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing, for which the SIMPHS project is expected to provide input during the impact assessment phase. While one of the key results we present is the need for a modelling approach for the ex ante assessment of the potential impact of IPHS, the focus of this work is more broadly that of considering what evidence is available on the impacts of IPHS in particular and eHealth in general. In this respect, the material presented in this technical report represents a one-off contribution in terms of an updated, exhaustive, and interdisciplinary critical review of the state of the art. It is worth stressing that this report brings together, in a coherent framework, different strands of literature. It goes beyond the more specific sub-field dealing with the evaluation of eHealth and spans health economics, clinical studies, general approaches in economics, and general modelling and health-specific studies. How to obtain EU publications Our priced publications are available from EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu), where you can place an order with the sales agent of your choice. The Publications Office has a worldwide network of sales agents. You can obtain their contact details by sending a fax to (352) 29 29-42758. The mission of the Joint Research Centre is to provide customer-driven scientific and technical support for the conception, development, implementation and monitoring of European Union policies. As a service of the European Commission, the Joint Research Centre functions as a reference centre of science and technology for the Union. Close to the policy-making process, it serves the common interest of the Member States, while being independent of special interests, whether private or national. LF-N A -2852-E N -N