Introducing the 2019 EIT Health Think Tank topic: ‘Optimising Innovation Pathways: Future Proofing for Success’

Join our Digital Town Hall to hear from multi-disciplinary experts, and share your own viewpoints

The EIT Health Think Tank will tackle the challenge of “Optimising Innovation Pathways: Future Proofing for Success” in 2019. The Think Tank topic was carefully identified by reviewing the priorities of our growing and evolving portfolio in conjunction with a rapidly evolving external environment.

Through input from the Think Tank Steering Committee and other relevant experts, the topic was defined in response to the growing challenge of ensuring that the pathway that health innovators need to navigate, that is, the individual steps to be taken to progress an idea to market and widespread adoption, is responsive to the rapid expansion of solutions being generated within our own projects.

The EIT Health Think Tank, now in its second year, will drive analysis and insight into the innovation pathways across multiple European regions, and provide recommendations for removing barriers and speeding up the process of delivering innovations to patients and citizens.

With the input of relevant multidisciplinary experts, the Think Tank will:

• Assess the current state of play of the effectiveness of existing innovation pathways in each relevant region to understand the ability of innovators to move through the pathway, from idea generation to commercialisation, with ease and speed.
• Identify the criteria that need to be met at each stage of the innovation pathway, in order to expedite the process and help improve the likelihood of a successful positive reimbursement decision leading to uptake and adoption of innovation.
• Agree on actions and make recommendations to improve or streamline the innovation pathway where change could be feasible. These recommendations may apply to any relevant stakeholders – government, policy makers, regulators, payors, clinical, etc.

”While some steps of the innovation pathways for differing solution types in EU member states are clear and well defined, others are sometimes considered complex, time consuming and lacking in clarity – particularly when reviewing the kinds of innovative solutions and services that are now rapidly being developed, such as software or a digital diagnostic tool. This sector is so fast-moving that it can often outpace the processes and existing methodologies in place for validation and assessment”, said Sameena Conning, Director of External Affairs at EIT Health.

“Coupled with this, there may also be difficulty in achieving widespread adoption, even when innovators have navigated successful regulatory and reimbursement processes, due to local procurement barriers or other infrastructural challenges. Such barriers may delay potentially impactful solutions from reaching patients and citizens.”

To introduce the topic, and explain further the process the Think Tank will take in addressing the topic, we invite all interested stakeholders to join our Digital Town Hall on 7 May 2019, to learn more during a live and interactive online panel session.

Digital Town Hall: Learn more and join the discussion

Hear from a panel of experts, and share your own views on 7 May 2019, 10-11am CET. Join a live online video discussion with EIT Health CEO Jan-Philipp Beck, EIT Health Think Tank Chair Finn Børlum Kristensen and panellists, featuring those who have already navigated the innovation pathway including Bieke Van Gorp of FibriCheck and Martin Steinberg of Stockholm3.

How to register

Register for the Digital Town here, and set up a reminder:

• on Google Calendar
• on Outlook Calendar
• on Yahoo Calendar

Anyone who cannot join us during the livestream will have the opportunity to watch a recording of the session via the EIT Health Vimeo channel.

About the EIT Health Think Tank

The EIT Health Think Tank is a forum for experts and thought leaders working in collaboration to shape the future of healthcare in Europe by identifying the barriers and opportunities that will either aid or impede the widespread adoption and uptake of healthcare innovation. These discussions take place both on a pan-EU and regional basis, in the format of a series of working groups and Round Table Meetings.

About the Digital Town Hall series

The EIT Health Digital Town Hall series brings together expertise from all corners of the innovation sector for online video panel discussions of interest to our community, with a format that allows for virtual interactivity. The second Digital Town Hall presented the work of the EIT Health Think Tank in 2018, when the topic of discussion was Big Data in healthcare The EIT Health Think Tank, now in its second year, has selected to offer analysis and insight into the innovation pathways of multiple European regions, and to provide recommendations for removing barriers and speeding up the process of delivering innovations to patients. The first Digital Town Hall covered the theme of how different organisations embed innovation into their fabric, and how EIT Health can best support this process.