This document discusses what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur in the assisted active living (AAL) marketplace. It notes that entrepreneurs recognize needs, identify solutions, exploit market opportunities through their capabilities, and sometimes change business norms through creative destruction and lateral thinking across sectors. An example is given of Cardionetics, which recognized a need for more flexible heart monitoring, developed a portable ECG monitor solution, and is now widely used in the UK. Docobo is also discussed as recognizing a need for portable web-based health monitoring.

1. What does it take to be a
Successful Entrepreneur
in the
AAL Marketplace?
Katy Lethbridge
E-Health Development Manager, SEHTA
© SEHTA 2009

2. SEHTA
South East Health Technologies Alliance
Facilitating the profitable and sustainable growth of companies
in South East England’s
Health Technologies sector:
Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Medical Devices
Diagnostics, Telecare and Telehealth
© SEHTA 2009

3. Health Technologies in SE England
• Revenue £58B
• Over 1000 health
technology
companies
• 5000 companies in
supply chain
• 24 universities
• within the GSE
health tech cluster
- one of the largest
in the world
© SEHTA 2009

4. SEHTA’s Offering
1. Support to Whole Health Tech Sector
• Commercial health tech industry esp. SMEs
• Health and Social Care Providers
• Private Service Providers
• Policy Makers / Strategic Agencies
• Funding organisations
• Universities / Academics
• Charities / Third Sector
• Support companies (consultants, legal, finance)
© SEHTA 2009

5. 2. Sector Knowledge and Expertise
• Commercial experience of big pharma / life science
SMEs
• Expertise in research / analysis in the Life Sciences
sector
• Scientific consultancy, writing, presentation
• Experience in commercialisation of innovation
• Successful fund raising from EU, public & private
sectors
© SEHTA 2009

6. 3. Business Intelligence and Development
• Identifying and articulating user needs
• Understanding and addressing market opportunities
• Developing databases
• Developing own funding and business opportunities
• Signposting other funding and business
opportunities
© SEHTA 2009

7. 4. Networking and Partnership Opportunities
• Over 1200 members in more than 20 countries
• 3,000 health tech contacts plus 1,000 telecare
contacts
• Database of 16,000 health tech companies and
supply chain
• Links to Universities – incl. Oxford, Imperial College,
UCL
• Links to policy makers - regional / national Govt, DH,
NHS, Social Care, TSB, UKTI, EU
• Links to regional, national and international networks
– care, health, telecoms, digital, security etc
• UK Partner Search service
© SEHTA 2009

8. SEHTA and Telecare/Telehealth
• EU project ‘PEOPLE’ - ICT for health and independence
• EU project ‘FASILIS’ – international voucher scheme
• Regional voucher scheme Telecare SME + university
• SurreyWorks Project – collaboration between industry,
university, sports facility, health and social care providers
• Sustainable Social Care Procurement Report - SESCA/SEHTA
• Telecare Knowledge Network
• International Centre of Excellence in Telecare – ICE-T
© SEHTA 2009

9. ICE-T
International Centre of Excellence
in
Telecare
© SEHTA 2009

10. What is Telecare?
Telecare is the use of information,
communication and sensor
technologies to deliver health and
social support to people to help
them live as independently as
possible in the lowest intensity care
setting consistent with their needs
and wishes.
© SEHTA 2009

11. Population Demographics
•In England 15.4 million people suffer from a long-term condition.
•LTCs account for 72% of inpatient bed days, 65% of outpatient
appointments and 52% of GP appointments.
•LTCs consume 69% of England’s primary and acute care budget
•The ageing population and poor lifestyles will lead to more people
suffering from long-term conditions
•In the western world, the ratio of workers to retirees is declining
and the number of people living alone is rising
(NHS figures)
Costs of care will increase at an unsustainable rate
© SEHTA 2009

12. Benefits of Technology in Care
Evidence supports the value of remote monitoring for
people with chronic diseases
35-56% reduction in mortality
47% reduction in risk of hospitalization
6 days reduction in length of hospital admission
40-64% reduction in physician time for check-ups
63% reduction in transport costs
(Cleland et al 2005; Lee R, Goldberg et al, 2003; Scalvini S et al., 2001;
Elsner et al, 2006; Van Ginneken et al 2006)
Investment in technology can improve the
effectiveness and delivery of care
© SEHTA 2009

13. Care Delivery = Market Barrier?
In South East England:
• Healthcare - 2 Strategic Health Authorities including:
17 Primary Care Trusts, 22 Acute Trusts, 9 Mental
Health or Specialist Trusts, 2 Ambulance Trusts
• Social Services – 8 Counties, 12 Unitary Authorities,
numerous local authorities
• Social Security – Dept of Work and Pensions
• Private and Voluntary Sector - 92% of residential and
domiciliary care provision
Challenging!
© SEHTA 2009

14. Intensity of Care
Prescribed Level 3
Pr Complex co-morbidity
co-
of
es
si
o
New na Level 2
Poorly controlled single
Elective Se lC
market ar disease
l f- e
opportunities M
an
Ca ag Level 1
re ed Well controlled
(70-80% of LTC
(70-
population)
Population Wide Prevention
© SEHTA 2009

15. ICE-T
• Identifying new market
opportunities
• Defining user need
• Developing sustainable
telecare business
© SEHTA 2009

16. Identifying new market opportunities
• Managed Environments: Telecare in
private and voluntary residential and
domiciliary care sector – ‘prescribed’
• Home Settings: Support for fragile
individuals or groups – ‘elective’
• Workplace: Support for people in work or
returning to work, through the workplace
– ‘elective’
© SEHTA 2009

17. Defining User Need
Facilitated workshops:
• Users and Providers of care services explain
their problem / need
• Technology companies suggest possible
solutions
• Discussion informs development of the
specification for a Call for proposals for
projects developing innovative telecare
products and services
© SEHTA 2009

18. 3 Funding Calls
1. ‘The Challenge of Making Technology
Work Commercially in Care’ - 4
projects funded
2. ‘The Role of Technology in Combating
Social Isolation’ – projects about to be
announced
3. ‘Using Technology to Improve Health
and Wellbeing at Work’ - Call open
© SEHTA 2009

19. What does it take to be a
Successful Entrepreneur
in the
AAL Marketplace?
© SEHTA 2009

20. What is an entrepreneur?
‘An innovator, one that introduces
new technologies into the workplace
or market, increasing efficiency,
productivity or generating new
products or services’
© SEHTA 2009

21. Traits of an Entrepreneur
• Recognise a need
• Identify a solution
• Use capabilities to exploit market
opportunity
• Change business norms – ‘creative
destruction’
• Lateral thinking / cross-sector innovation
• Social entrepreneurs – non-profit
• SMEs
• Women?
© SEHTA 2009

22. Cardionetics
• Recognise Need - existing support for heart patients was
inflexible, time-consuming and expensive use of hospital
resource
• Develop solution - 24-hour ambulatory ECG portable monitor
with instant automated analysis for use in GPs clinics
• Exploit market opportunity - now have hundreds of its heart
monitors in daily use by doctors across the UK
• Change business norms - allows GPs to perform tests locally
without referring patient to a hospital cardiology department
• Lateral thinking – now developing remote monitoring in patient’s
home by combining intelligent heart monitoring and mobile
phone technology
© SEHTA 2009

23. Docobo
• Recognise need - portable, easy-to-use, accessible web-based
health monitoring system usable anytime, anywhere
• Develop solution - Docobo formed to commercialise output of EU
R&D project and develop ‘HealthHUB’ and ‘doc@HOME’
• Change business norms – provide end-to-end service: project
management, planning, implementation, patient selection support,
training, installation, technical support, decommissioning
• Exploit market opportunity – individuals, carers, PCTs, GPs,
nursing/residential homes, in UK and internationally
• Lateral thinking – system changes functionality to interface with
number of out-of-hours services, monitoring services and GP
systems. Multi-patient hub for community settings
© SEHTA 2009

24. South East Health
• Recognise need - out of hours GP services
• Develop solution – call centres, primary care service in A&E,
GP-led health centres, nurse led services, pharmacies
• Lateral thinking – call centres adapted for delivery of telehealth /
telecare monitoring and response services to health and social
care providers – set up South East Health Assisted Living Ltd
• Change business norms – innovative open-platform technology
integrates health and social care data and supports assistive
technology equipment from all major providers
• Exploit market opportunity – business strategy fits new GP
consortia procurement model and Govt drive for co-operation
between health and social care providers
© SEHTA 2009

25. PassivSystems
• Recognise need - most homes waste energy
• Develop solution - PassivEnergy™ online home energy
management adjusts energy use based on individual lifestyle:
saves up to 18% on energy bills
• Exploit market opportunity - selected as one of the 6 hottest
products at Consumer Electronics Show 2010
• Change business norms - replaces existing controls, intelligently
adapts to lifestyle. Now have an iPhone app giving control from
outside the home
• Cross sector innovation – are developing the system’s monitoring
and diagnostic capabilities for health and wellbeing applications
© SEHTA 2009

26. Special traits of an AAL entrepreneur
• Understanding of regulatory environment
• Recognition that AAL is now a service
market not solely a device market
• Ability to exploit fragmented health and
social care market
• Networking / collaborative skills
• Dogged perseverance!
• Desire to put the end-user first – to care
© SEHTA 2009

27. Thank You
&
Questions?
© SEHTA 2009

28. www.sehta.co.uk
www.ice-t.co.uk
katy.lethbridge@sehta.co.uk
07876 703021
© SEHTA 2009