The innovation project PAPRIKA, selected in the Market Push programme of EIT Health Spain

• PAPRIKA, an innovation project whose solution aims to improve patient preparation before surgery and reduce perioperative complications, has been selected this year to receive financial support of € 20,000. 
• The Market Push is an annual call of EIT Health Spain that offers financial support to an innovation project led by Spanish Partners of EIT Health to bolster the commercialisation of its product. All innovation projects that ended their activity in the period between December 2021 and January 2023 were eligible for this call. 

The project is based on the implementation of personalised pre-habilitation programmes that address the need for better preparation for surgery. It incorporates two digital solutions: an adaptive case management platform for healthcare professionals, ready for integration with the electronic medical record, and a self-management application for patients. PAPRIKA thus offers greater collaboration and coordination between the healthcare environment and patients, enabling them to plan medical care together, empowering the patient, and generating efficiencies. 

The project, led by ATOS, has validated the commercial potential and the impact of the solution in terms of value creation. The Eurecat technology centre, the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS), the University of Barcelona, Leitat, the University of Grenoble Alpes (UGA), and Fraunhofer have also participated in the consortium. 

Health Circuit, a spin-off of Hospital Clínic de Barcelona and IDIBAPS, has capitalised this experience in the digital therapy Surgifit™, a personalised surgical pre-habilitation programme designed to improve the functional status of patients before surgery. With clinical evidence of a reduction in surgical complications of up to 50%, a postoperative recovery twice as fast and an average direct cost reduction of more than 800€ per patient, this programme will improve the quality of life of patients, who will not have to go to hospital as often or stay longer than strictly necessary, so the patient will benefit from the reduction in sick leave time, families from comfort, and hospitals from cost savings. EIT Health Spain’s financial contribution will help the PAPRIKA project in its marketing strategy for its entry into the German and Canadian markets. 

PAPRIKA is aligned with EIT Health’s priority goals, especially in the focus on new models to deliver healthcare to improve the quality of life of patients, while ensuring the sustainability of the health and care system.