EcoQUIP+ – Delivering Efficiency, Quality, and Sustainability in Healthcare

Programme: COSME
Project Status: ONGOING

What aims and scope

To improve healthcare efficiency, quality and environmental sustainability through innovation procurement. Furthermore, the project will work towards achieving the following:

Connecting EU-supported research and development to procurement outcomes
Improving the use of innovation potential in SMEs to support healthcare outcomes
Strengthening market demand for innovation by enhancing the capability of hospitals to engage in multilateral and collaborative actions
Seeking options and opportunities for joint procurement when feasible and if they add value in terms of outcomes and innovation

How it will become possible

The European-funded project will execute four primary actions to reach the aforementioned goals, including:

Implementing five leader-led innovation procurement (PPI) projects within the healthcare sector in important challenge areas that have good potential for aggregation of demand and wider replication
Undertaking market engagement actions to catalyse interest from potential solution providers including innovative SMEs and EU-funded project beneficiaries
Developing and testing mechanisms for collaborative and joint procurement actions within the consortium and with third-party buyers throughout the innovation procurement life cycle
Building and enabling buyer groups that extend beyond the country, or region, of the leading hospital for each of the leader-led projects

Where EHMA will deliver

EHMA is responsible for the dissemination and communication strategy of the project. In particular, EHMA ensures the dissemination of the project activities and findings. To do so, EHMA communicates with stakeholders by managing and contributing to the LinkedIn Collaborative Buyers Forum, among others. Furthermore, EHMA is responsible for the organisation and execution of the webinar series for healthcare managers. In total, six webinars were organised to gather knowledge from different experts and to increase awareness among managers of the benefits and process of innovation procurement. The lessons learned from the project will be collated to produce a case study based publication.

For more information about the project and the possibilities for involvement, check this flyer.

This project has received co-funding from the COSME programme of the European Union under grant agreement No 857790. This page and the publications contained herein only reflects the author’s views. The European Union is not liable for any use that might be made of the information contained in this page and publications.

WHY YOU WILL BENEFIT

The project will foster the creation of an ‘Innovation Procurement Leaders Group’ of hospitals that will be able to pioneer new approaches to collaborative procurement.

As the project will stimulate demand for innovative goods and services to deliver practical procurement outcomes, it will serve as a best practice model for at least 15,000 European hospitals.

Lastly, you’ll have access to a series of webinars aimed specifically at healthcare managers, exploring innovation procurement’s potential in addressing key healthcare challenges.

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I have been active in EHMA since the first years of the '90s and I have seen its evolution from a small association of members interested in sharing knowledge on health management practices to the current status of reference and advisory key player for EU, health systems and organisations, stakeholders associations, industry and universities. EHMA is now a unique knowledge hub, policy advisor, community of practice and network of best in class organisations involved in health policy and management. A place where health managers can build their competences, policy-makers and stakeholder associations envision how to implement and sustain change through health management, industry leaders understand how to engage more effectively with health organisations and systems. The right place to nurture and grow health management capabilities and capacity for every stakeholder of health systems.

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Prof. Todorka Kostadinova, Medical University of Varna, Bulgaria

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Prof. Axel Kaehne, Edge Hill University, UK

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Dr Alexandre Lourenco, APAH - Association of Portuguese Hospital Managers, Portugal

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Prof. Ann Mahon, University of Manchester, UK

Society evolution, pandemics and ageing modify health needs. So, health policies and services are to change dramatically. EHMA, through webinars, workshops and annual conference provides an excellent insight to a professional changing world, favouring closeness to management innovation and the protagonists of these changes. As a primary care services’ manager, participating in EHMA activities is really worth it and allows to involve oneself in the innovation processes.

Dr Antoni Peris Grao, Consorci Castelldefels Agents de Salut (CASAP), Spain