A methodology for multi-actor evaluation of the impact of eCare services

The healthcare sector is an incredibly complex system with many public and private actors and a wide diversity of services. Because of the aging society and the growing evolution of health expenditures, pressure on available resources (time, people, budget, etc.) is increasing. Innovative ICT supported eCare and eCure services are expected to increase efficiency, coordination and organization of care. Currently many initiatives already introduced ICT-supported eCare services into the current healthcare ecosystem. However, it´s quite a challenge to estimate the impact and expected uptake of these new eCare services. It´s no surprise that only few services commercially succeeded. This paper presents a methodology that identifies and evaluates the PEST factors (political, economical, social and technological aspects) that impact the involved care actors when introducing eCare services. The model takes into account the overall socio-economic aspects of the service, but also the subjective importance that an individual actor can ascribe to a particular eCare service. Combining the impact of these PEST factors leads to an expected adoption rate. Both new services and existing initiatives can be compared to one another and the impact of economies of scale can be investigated. In case a negative impact on some actors is observed, the model proposes cost allocation or service offer alternatives to ameliorate the business case for a particular service. Finally, a sensitivity analysis helps to indicate the most significant parameters that drive the business case.