EIT Health finances SMARTDIABETES project with €1.15M for integrated diabetes management based on value

• The rising prevalence of diabetes is threatening the sustainability of healthcare systems in Europe, with a minimum annual cost of €72 billion, according to OECD data
• Value-Based Healthcare (VBHC) is emerging as a medium-to-long-term solution to deliver patient value while maintaining the economic sustainability of the system
• In its drive to contribute to the transformation towards VBHC, EIT Health offers, through its Flagships call, an opportunity to bring projects closer to achieving this goal.

SMARTDIABETES, the consortium led by Spanish start-up SocialDiabetes, has been selected by EIT Health, part of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union, in its Flagships funding call.

Through this initiative, EIT Health seeks to foster the adoption of new Value-Based Healthcare (VBHC) models, such as the SMARTDIABETES project, which will receive €1.15 million in funding until the end of 2025. The grant will enable the implementation of a comprehensive diabetes management programme that combines the SocialDiabetes digital therapy platform, a value-based public procurement model for payers, and adoption strategies to facilitate smooth integration into the healthcare systems that adopt it.

“The increase in life expectancy poses an unprecedented challenge to healthcare systems, as it leads to an exponential rise in the prevalence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes,” notes Izabel Alfany, Managing Director of EIT Health Spain. “Projects like SMARTDIABETES, which work towards finding new organisational models to balance efficiency and quality in patient care, are indispensable in facing this formidable challenge. That is why, at EIT Health, we want to contribute to its development,” she adds.

Diabetes, the silent pandemic

In Europe, 61 million people live with diabetes ⁽¹⁾, and 1 in 4 people over 65 have this condition ⁽²⁾, often accompanied by functional decline, frailty, or disability.

“The projected rise in obesity rates over the coming decades, along with the ageing of the population, will lead to a notable increase in the prevalence of diabetes. While obesity can be prevented, population ageing requires changes in how diabetes is addressed,” explains Leocadio Rodríguez Mañas, Head of the Geriatrics Department at Hospital Universitario de Getafe, Madrid.

Diabetes, with its direct and indirect costs, is putting the sustainability of healthcare systems at risk, both in Europe and worldwide. Diabetes is the first of the four major chronic diseases (heart attack, stroke, and cancer) in Europe responsible for so-called catastrophic health expenditures (those exceeding 10% of household income) among the elderly ⁽³⁾, with a minimum cost of €72 billion annually, according to the OECD/EU report ⁽⁴⁾.

Promoting a value-based procurement model

VBHC models are emerging as an innovative approach to improve patient experience and health outcomes with the limited resources available in healthcare systems, which are threatened by an ageing population with multimorbidity and chronic conditions.

There is a growing trend towards considering VBHC initiatives as a strategic model for healthcare management, as they allow adaptation and design of care and reimbursement processes to generate patient value while maintaining the economic sustainability of the system.

Thanks to projects like SMARTDIABETES, which bring together medical devices, universal connectivity, artificial intelligence, and optimised and shared healthcare databases, patient experience and outcomes can be enhanced through disease self-management, ensuring healthcare centres maintain quality of care while providing greater efficiency for payers.

The project consortium, composed of sector leaders, aims to demonstrate the economic impact of the SMARTDIABETES model to facilitate cost-effective pricing and define value-based procurement models for European governments.

“This project aligns with our value-based strategy and our ambition to empower people with diabetes through top-tier technology and expert support, delivering personalised medicine solutions. The results of SMARTDIABETES could potentially allow us to serve 6.8 million patients across Europe,” says Beatriz López, director of diabetes activity at Air Liquide Healthcare Spain.

Led by SocialDiabetes, the SMARTDIABETES consortium includes AirLiquide Healthcare, Karolinska Institute, which contributes its prestigious expertise in value-based public health strategies, International Diabetes Federation Europe (IDF-E), the world’s leading organisation in diabetes, LifeScience Consulting, experts in health economics, and Association E-Seniors. Four healthcare systems are involved in the project (the Madrid Health Service (SERMAS), the Catalan Health Institute (ICS), Region Stockholm, and the National Institute for Diabetes, Nutrition, and Metabolic Diseases in Romania), with the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) providing support for management and coordination activities.

“The need is clear and urgent. We have the key ingredients available to implement a high-impact health strategy for society. The SMARTDIABETES consortium brings together complementary expertise in a powerful way to tackle the major challenge of diabetes management in Europe and globally right now,” says María Jesús Salido, CEO of SocialDiabetes.

References

(1) International Diabetes Federation. IDF Diabetes Atlas, 10th edn. Brussels, Belgium: 2021. Available at: https://www.diabetesatlas.org

(2) International Diabetes Federation. IDF Diabetes Atlas, 10th edn. Brussels, Belgium: 2021. Available at: https://www.diabetesatlas.org

(3) Arsenijevic J et al., PLoSOne, 2016; 11: e0157765. Available at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27379926/

(4) OECD/European Union (2020), “Diabetes prevalence” in Health at a Glance: Europe 2020: State of Health in the EU Cycle, OECD Publishing, Paris Available at: https://doi.org/10.1787/82129230-en