Currently, Open Evidence is actively involved in the co-creation of the evaluation framework together with the pilot-sites (from Basque country, Aragon, Saxony, Puglia, Poland, Milton Keynes, Greece and Cyprus). The evaluation framework is designed to systematically assess the application of Gatekeeper platform services, with the aim of improving the quality of life of citizens while demonstrating its significant efficiency gains in health and care delivery across Europe. To start with, the experimental design and key performance indicators are being established in order to structurally examine the outcomes and show the effectiveness of the deployment of technical solutions that will involve around 40,000 elderly citizens in 8 regional communities from 7 EU member states. It is of great importance to establish the experimental design and key performance indicators at the very beginning of the process.
Dr. Frans Folkvord, researcher at Open Evidence, explains “Gatekeeper provides us with a great opportunity to establish all necessary elements of a large pilot site deployment of highly promising technological solutions to improve healthcare across Europe. Conducting these important methodological activities a priori is essential to reap the benefits of this large European project efficiently”. Whereas most interventions do not have the opportunity to use a multidisciplinary team like in Gatekeeper, this creates the possibility to conduct this important work from a large number of perspectives. This has not gone unnoticed to Dr. Jordi de Battle, researcher at Lleida Biomedical Research Institute’s Dr. Pifarré Foundation (IRBLleida) and work package leader in Gatekeeper, “Open Evidence and the individual pilot sites are doing great work on establishing the evaluation framework for the Gatekeeper project. This is much needed, considering the usefulness and relevance of valid and reliable outcomes that are the result of methodological sound designs to test advanced ICTs to improve quality of life of citizens across Europe”.
Designing a methodological sound evaluation framework with valid and reliable key performance indicators is necessary to effectively test the outcomes of digital solutions in the healthcare sector. Subsequently, it provides the opportunity to conduct cost-effectiveness analyses to support evidence-based decision-making processes for stakeholders, such as health or social care providers, policy makers, companies or researchers, and also users in the health and care sector. Prof. Francisco Lupiáñez-Villanueva, Director at Open Evidence and professor at Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, emphasises the flexibility of the Monitoring and Assessment Framework for the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing – MAFEIP tool to support evidence-based decision-making processes for all institutions and users in the health and care sector.
