Levers for integrating social work into primary healthcare networks in Austria.

BACKGROUND: The integrated healthcare of patients with support needs in primary healthcare in Austria has insufficient structural and procedural features in terms of the quality and security of care. The aim is therefore to develop solution- and patient-oriented services that take into account both the patients' requirements as well as the medical, nursing, therapeutic and economic perspectives. The question arises: What relevant levers can support the active participation of social work in the primary healthcare of patients with support needs in Austria? METHODS: An adapted Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to investigate the levers for integrating social work into primary healthcare networks in Austria. In addition to a semi-structured literature search, subjective expert and user priorities were surveyed, cause-and-effect relationships were visualized, an extended cycle of success was developed and relevant control levers were identified by means of a pair comparison matrix and an effectiveness front. RESULTS: This results in the targeted development and optimization of the complex integration of social work into primary healthcare in Austria, the relevant levers being the professionalization of social work, competences of social work, communication and cooperation of stakeholders. CONCLUSION: The identified levers have to be processed conceptually and operationally. For this purpose, an integrated concept has to be developed, which, in addition to innovative organizational instruments, includes special communication approaches as well as inter-professional process and knowledge management.

Socially Assistive Robots (SAR) in In-Patient Care for the Elderly.

In-patient care of the elderly is currently being put to the test in all developed industrial nations. The aim is to make the resident-centered and nursing-related care more professional. In addition to the organizational and interdisciplinary orientation, the use of socially assistive robot technologies and artificial intelligence is increasingly coming to the fore. By means of literature research, expert interviews and an online survey of Upper Austrian nursing home directors, current and future challenges and challenges for the use of socially assistive robots (SAR) in in-patient care for the elderly were identified and prioritized. It becomes clear that the technological and application-oriented maturity of SAR as well as the modular adaptation of the hybrid SAR services to the existing structures and processes from the point of view of the nursing home management are in the foreground. In the future, it will be increasingly important to bring the process-related and technological support of human-machine interaction through SAR to a value-adding level.

New Service Excellence Model for eHealth and AAL Solutions - A Framework for Continuous New Service Development.

The development of eHealth and AAL (Ambient Assisted Living) services with the aim to reduce the complexity of living environments for the elderly often does not lead to the desired results on the market. The design of an eHealth/AAL specific framework for continuous New Service Development is presented in this paper. Our research addresses this challenge with a new Service Excellence Model (SEM) and outlines the benefits of this specific approach. The research is based on the data of the DALIA project (Assistant for DAily LIfe Activities at Home) and the PenAAL project (Performance Measurement Index for AAL solutions), parts of which the projects were the classification of relevant business dimensions and the development of a related scoring tool for continuous benchmarking and improvement.

Digital Media for Primary Health Care in Austria.

Primary health care (PHC) is currently being improved in all developed industries. The aim is to make healthcare more patient-centered and close to the patient's place of residence. In addition to the organizational and interdisciplinary reorientation, the use of digital media is increasingly being emphasized. Through literature research and an online survey among Austrian doctors and general practitioners, the current and future challenges for the use of digital media in networked and regional primary health care were identified and prioritized. It becomes clear that basic functions like documentation, communication and coordination in the individual medical practice are at the forefront. In the future it will be necessary to support regional and interprofessional networking through digital media.

[Primary Health Care in Austria - Tu Felix Austria nube - Concept for networking in the primary care of Upper Austria]. / Primary Health Care in Österreich ­ Tu Felix Austria nube ­ Konzept der Vernetzung in der primären Gesundheitsversorgung von Oberösterreich.

The primary health care in rural areas in Austria is currently determined by challenges such as ageing of the population, the shift towards chronic and age-related illnesses, the specialist medical and hospital-related education and training of physicians' as well growing widespread difficulty of staffing doctor's office. The objective is to realize a general practitioner centered and team-oriented primary health care (PHC) approach by establishing networked primary health care in rural areas of Austria. Using literature research, online survey, expert interviews and expert workshops, we identified different challenges in terms of primary health care in rural areas. Further, current resources and capacities of primary health care in rural areas were identified using the example of the district of Rohrbach. Twelve design dimensions and 51 relevant measurement indicators of a PHC network were delineated and described. Based on this, 12 design approaches of PHC concept for the GP-centered and team-oriented primary health care in rural areas have been developed.

AAL Service Performance Measurement Cube - Key Criteria for AAL New Service Development.

UNLABELLED: The living environments of senior citizens are gaining in complexity with regard to health, mobility, information, support and behaviour. The development of Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) services in order to reduce this complexity is becoming increasingly important. The question is: What relevant criteria support the development, measurement and evaluation of business models of hybrid AAL services which have to be considered in an appropriate Performance Measurement Set? Within the EU funded research project DALIA (Assistant for Daily Life Activities at Home) a Service Performance Measurement Criteria (SPMC) Set has been developed and described. With the help of literature review and expert interviews relevant performance criteria were identified and described in the context of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). In conjunction with an AAL business models scanning, a set of performance measurement criteria could be created. DISCUSSION: The development and application of a specific AAL SPMC Set offers the possibility in a targeted and conceptual way advance the development of marketable AAL services. Here it will be important to integrate with software support the SPMC Set in the service development process of future marketable AAL applications. With the application of an adjusted AAL Service Performance Measurement Cube, the conceptual development of marketable AAL services can be maintained and relevant decisions can be supported.

AAL service development loom--from the idea to a marketable business model.

The Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) market is still in an early stage of development. Previous approaches of comprehensive AAL services are mostly supply-side driven and focused on hardware and software. Usually this type of AAL solutions does not lead to a sustainable success on the market. Research and development increasingly focuses on demand and customer requirements in addition to the social and legal framework. The question is: How can a systematic performance measurement strategy along a service development process support the market-ready design of a concrete business model for AAL service? Within the EU funded research project DALIA (Assistant for Daily Life Activities at Home) an iterative service development process uses an adapted Osterwalder business model canvas. The application of a performance measurement index (PMI) to support the process has been developed and tested. Development of an iterative service development model using a supporting PMI. The PMI framework is developed throughout the engineering of a virtual assistant (AVATAR) as a modular interface to connect informal carers with necessary and useful services. Future research should seek to ensure that the PMI enables meaningful transparency regarding targeting (e.g. innovative AAL service), design (e.g. functional hybrid AAL service) and implementation (e.g. marketable AAL support services). To this end, a further reference to further testing practices is required. The aim must be to develop a weighted PMI in the context of further research, which supports both the service engineering and the subsequent service management process.