The project DigiHelse aims to support the municipality health in Norway by offering a digital communication platform to users of the home care service nationally. In a concept stage of innovation, an early assessment of the potential socioeconomic value of the project was carried out by means of stakeholder insight and scenario drafting. As the assessment showed favorable potential in providing decision support and reducing risk, the project received funding to move into the pilot phase. The objective of this study is to reassess the effect of stakeholder insight and scenario drafting by validating the results using empirical data from the first pilot of DigiHelse.

Through collecting empirical data on resource consumption and inquiries to the service from four intervention districts and one control district in Oslo, the socioeconomic value of DigiHelse was reassessed. In addition to survey and register data collected before and after the pilot, behavioral data was introduced as a new data source.

The effect of early assessment by means of stakeholder insight and scenario drafting was successfully studied adding empirical data from the projects first pilot. The real-time data on user behavior registered in the DigiHelse server contributed to verify the assumptions from the first assessment of the project. Although the results from the analysis were less optimistic than the first assessment, the study revealed important improvement measures necessary to improve the innovation process.

The usefulness of early assessment is questioned, due to lack of precision of estimates caused by scarce available data. The present study presents a first step in evaluating the precision of employing stakeholder insight and scenario drafting as additional information in early assessment of innovation. The studied approach to early assessment showed potential in enhancing decision support and reducing risk from a concept stage of innovation.

Early assessment can assist in allocating resources for innovation effectively and produce the most beneficial technology for an institution. The aim of the present study was to identify methods and discuss the analytical approaches applied for the early assessment of innovation in a healthcare setting.

Knowledge synthesis based on a structured search (using the MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane databases) and thematic analysis was conducted. An analytical framework based on the stage of innovation (developmental, introduction, or early diffusion) was applied to assess whether methods vary according to stage. Themes (type of innovation, study, analysis, study design, method, and main target audience) were then decided among the authors. Identified methods and analysis were discussed according to the innovation stage.

A total of 1,064 articles matched the search strategy. Overall, thirty-nine articles matched the inclusion criteria. The use of methods has a tendency to change according to the stage of innovation. Stakeholder analysis was a prominent method in the innovation stages and particularly in the developmental stage, as the introduction and early diffusion stage has more availability of data and may apply more complex methods. Barriers to the identified methods were also discussed as all of the innovation stages suffered from lack of data and substantial uncertainty.

Although this review has identified applicable approaches for early assessment in different innovation stages, research is required regarding the value of the available data and methods and tools to enhance interactions between different parties at different stages of innovation.

There is a lack of adoption and diffusion of health innovations needed to drive the implementation of important breakthroughs in value-based health care. To stimulate organizational changes, decision-makers need to see potential benefit at an early stage. The aim of the present study was to assess the potential effects of a conceptualized intention to provide digital home-based care and compare it to the current provision of such care. The new intervention aims to strengthen the municipality's care services by offering a digital communication platform to recipients of home-based health services and their dependents. The platform is designed to be implemented nationally and is in line with home service needs identified in several white papers.

An interdisciplinary team united to determine and quantify potential effects of the project. Effects of the digitalized service were distinguished in priced quantitative, unpriced quantitative and qualitative effects. A ten-year present value calculation with a calculation rate of four percent was used for the estimates. A risk analysis was also carried out.

The present value calculation resulted in estimated savings equal to EUR 25.8 million , with present value investments costs of EUR 5.5 million over ten years. This resulted in net present value per invested euro in the public sector equal to EUR 3.2. Overall assessment of uncertainty related to the intervention's socio-economic profitability was deemed average. Based on data quantified estimates from the conceptual phase, the project succeeded in the decision-making and funding needed to proceed into the next developmental phase of the project.

The present approach to early assessment may provide much desired decision support in an early innovation phase when data are still missing. Our experience is that early stakeholder involvement and the early assessment and quantification of value gains are of utmost importance to overcome the critical barriers to organization health innovations.

Procurement is one tool for the public sector to acquire need-based, innovative and effective solutions. To succeed in purchasing services that succeed in improving patients’ outcomes and optimize cost of care, the process must be accompanied with tools for early decisional support. Documenting the effects of healthcare innovation is therefore fundamental when dealing with prioritizing adequate technology. The aim of the present study was to review the literature to identify early assessment methodology applicable to innovative procurement processes.

A scoping review was performed in January and February 2017 with the objective of selecting literature reporting on early assessment of health innovation. Methods for early assessment of health innovation were identified with the aim of investigating whether the methods change depending on where in the innovation process (development, introduction, and early diffusion) they are applied, and if the literature pointed to dominant methods. Next, critical elements of the innovative procurement process were identified, and methods relevant to the need-based phase of procurement were assessed.

In total 1064 articles met the search strategy. Based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria, thirty-nine articles were included in the study. When viewed in the light of innovative procurement, stakeholder insight was an important source of data in early assessment of potential benefits of health innovation. Such data can be applied in scenario analyses to provide necessary outcome overviews and to direct and accelerate the procurement process. Further, various simulation and analysis methods may be used in new ways to increase the impact of the scarce availability of data in early innovation phase.

The present review identified tools for early decisional support that address risks and step-wise healthcare management support. Information based on the present review will also be addressed in Panel 26 “Accelerating Value Based Health Care with Innovative Procurement and Early Decisional Support”