What is the object of the project?

In accordance with relevant EU directives, the digital strategy for health aims to use best practices in the creation of a national interoperability framework, in line with the European Refined e-Health Interoperability Framework (reEIF), to follow the technical specifications proposed by the EU, and to expand digital services to citizens by creating solutions using the European standard for the exchange of medical data, with due adherence to necessary data protection safeguards.

A major challenge in Greece right now is the unequal distribution of health resources and personnel, and access to them for all citizens without exception throughout Greek territory. Rapid digital and technological developments, combined with an increase in people’s digital skills globally and in Europe, have brought about significant changes in people’s expectations with regard to disease prevention and healthcare. People now want e-health services that are customized and tailored to meet their personal needs, and Greece lags behind the EU average in the provision of such services.
In view of the above, the provision of e-health services must be expanded, firstly, to cover and empower the entire population and, secondly, to automate the operational procedures used by competent organizations to respond to emergencies and incidents. Therefore, a number of actions will be implemented with a view to putting in place digital services for the organization of healthcare institutions and streamlining the quality of health services to citizens.

This contract provides for the supply and implementation of state-of-the-art information systems and a number of services comprising the following two pillars:

• Pillar 1: Supply, development and installation of systems for the management of incidents and of services to citizens.
• Pillar 2: Supply and creation of a Hellenic Ambulance Center (EKAV) control tower

What are the objectives of the project?

This project is part of the national plan for the digital transformation of the Greek health sector and aims primarily to allow the Hellenic Ambulance Center (EKAV) to use cutting-edge technological systems and applications, and to automate the operational processes of the organizations involved with a view to enabling them to make faster and more effective strategic decisions in emergencies and crises, for the benefit of society.

What are the expected benefits of the project?

The critical benefits expected in each pillar of intervention are detailed below:

Pillar 1: Supply, development and installation of systems for the management of incidents and of services to citizens

1. Supply or development and installation of a system to assist with classifying incidents, assessing criticality in EKAV (Triage Management System), and optimizing ambulance trips. Using a triage system will bring about the following minimum benefits:

• accurately determining the criticality of a patient’s condition and giving priority to cases that require immediate medical intervention;
• reducing patient waiting times and the likelihood of unsafe situations in healthcare facilities;
• efficient management of available resources, as it allows for matching the appropriate level of care to a patient’s needs.

1. Development of an application for people to call for an ambulance

Using this application will bring about significant benefits such as:

• immediate identification of the caller’s exact location;
• unhindered caller-EKAV communication even in situations where the caller has difficulty speaking due to the circumstances at hand;
• improved transparency for callers, as they will receive updates on their mobile phone concerning the progress made in handling the incident;
• better assessment of the criticality of the patient’s condition by EKAV, as the caller will be able to transmit audiovisual material from their mobile phone.

1. Development of an application for notifying upcoming incidents to Emergency Departments

The interfacing of systems will bring about the following minimum benefits:

• automatic transmission of the e-Incident Form by EKAV to Emergency Departments, thus providing immediate information on the incident at hand, to allow health professionals to provide services that are tailored to the patient;
• better planning and management of health resources in terms of staff and equipment by Emergency Departments;
• fewer errors and adverse events during a patient’s transfer to hospital.

Pillar 2: Supply and creation of a Hellenic Ambulance Center (EKAV) control tower

Following is a summary of the benefits expected from the implementation of an EKAV digital control tower:

• Streamlined coordinated management of resources: The digital control tower operates as a central point of coordination for the management of ambulances and health resources, contributing to the optimal use of staff, equipment and vehicles.
• Management and forecasting of needs: Through data analysis, the digital control tower is able to predict future needs for pre-hospital and ambulance services and prepare accordingly.
• Better quality of care: Data analysis helps to detect any problems in the provision of care and take steps to improve care.