Good treatment of chronic diseases is a sum of several factors and requires extensive expertise and coordination and a great deal of healthcare resources. Research shows that in the Helsinki metropolitan area 10 per cent of patients use 80 per cent of healthcare resources, and most of these patients suffer from one or more chronic diseases. For patients to receive the right treatment at the right time, many things are needed: appointments, the collection and interpretation of patient data, communication between various specialists, monitoring of the medicine balance and mental support. Patients with chronic diseases often encounter problems in accessing and planning treatment and communicating with care providers, which is due to dispersed data and duties.

Combining data from multiple care pathways onto the same platform

The goal of the Aalto University’s MASSE project is to create a virtual care management system in just over two years to improve the treatment of chronic diseases. Virtual care management makes it possible to provide individual healthcare with the efficiency of mass production. The project partners include the University of Helsinki, the Pharmaceutical Information Centre and several other healthcare companies.

The virtual care management system combines data collected from different care pathways onto the same platform. It monitors the development of the patient’s condition based on the data, coordinates doctor and treatment appointments and collects patient feedback. The platform will be combined with devices, therapies and digital care pathways developed by the partner companies. The system will benefit the suppliers responsible for delivering the services, such as hospital districts, local authorities, insurance companies and occupational healthcare providers.

Pharmaceutical Information Centre focuses on care pathways and medication solutions that support them

In the Pharmaceutical Information Centre’s sub-project, the focus is on patients with Type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and Parkinson’s disease. Data collected from patients will be used to produce illustrative presentations of care pathways for these diseases and medication solutions that support these, which will improve treatment monitoring, communication and medication safety.

The total budget of the project is approximately EUR 7.3 million, and Business Finland’s share is EUR 3.5 million. The project is related to Business Finland’s Smart Life Finland programme, which aims to speed utilisation of the opportunities created by digitalisation in healthcare and wellbeing.

Just like other ecosystems funded by Business Finland, MASSE will be seeking international growth on the global markets by serving as an export platform for various kinds of applications, devices and digital therapies.