IDIVAL is the Health Research Institute of Cantabria. It was created as a place for biomedical research, knowledge generation and socioeconomic tractor for the region, whose patrons and founders are the Ministry of Health and the University of Cantabria. IDIVAL has been entrusted as the institution managing all research, development and innovation in the regional public healthcare sector.
Thanks to the impulse from the Government of Cantabria and the University of Cantabria, the Marqués de Valdecilla Health Research Institute (IDIVAL) promotes and develops research and innovation in the biomedical environment of our region.
Thanks to Intencive project and the exchange of good practices between partners, IDIVAL developed and impoved these two actions: LINNUX-E and APP Salud SCS.
The policy change proposed by IDIVAL is addressing the Strategy for the Digital Transformation of the regional healthcare system policy that evolved from the Cantabrian Health Plan 2014-2019, with the aim of financing these two new and innovative projects.
LINNUX-E
This action is transferred thanks to the good practice of Seinäjoki University called “Showrooms for wellbeing technology”.
The Laboratory for innovation and usability with a focus on the elderly population (LINNUX-E) is conceived as a multifunctional workspace for the development of innovation projects at the service of the regional healthcare system, and healthcare professionals in Cantabria, with the ultimate goal of improving patient care and a special focus on the elderly population.
The LINNUX-E aims to be an environment for developing, demonstrating, testing, disseminating and researching in the area of healthcare technologies, with a special focus on designing and implementing technology (software, devices, APPs, etc.) easier for its users to use, specially referring to senior users: both patients and clinicians. The LINNUX-E will be a test bed for technology, allowing our healthcare system, society and industry to design and develop technology (identify user needs, user centered design, usability assessment, etc.), demonstrate how a technology might adapt to its end-users and use environment, test its impact after implementing, and allow research and exchange of experiences among users and developers. LINNUX-E activity will be based on the participation of patients, healthcare professionals, human factor and design thinking experts, patient experience analysis and usability testing tools.
Mobile APP for the Servicio Cántabro de Salud
Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, the need to improve and adapt our communication systems for professionals and patients has become even more evident. Each person's circumstances are different, so designing tools with a focus on end users is the most effective strategy to achieve safe and effective use of healthcare solutions. The Directorate General for Digital Transformation and User Relations is redesigning the mobile application that serves citizens in Cantabria to access several services of the regional healthcare system.
After several months working with the INTENCIVE partners, accessing information on the best practices shared by other regions and attending online study visits, our team have learned about other mobile applications and web-based, that have led to identify functionalities and services to implement in the new regional application and adapt solutions from the user's point of view.
Thus, work continues on a common corporate strategy, to which these two actions allign and will impact, which includes improving the usability and services included in the electronic health folder available on the web and App on mobile devices, consolidating all the progress made during the COVID crisis.
The Action Plan is available HERE
