The excellent, accessible and personal care in Brabant's society is under pressure due to the strong increase in the number of elderly and, consequently, the number of chronic diseases.
Change
Simultaneously, the number of young people decreases and with that the work force. The need for care increases, people demand higher quality and the national healthcare system will change dramatically.
Solutions
Using ICT to support care at home is a promising solution so that namely the elderly and the chronically ill are able to live at home for longer and continue to participate in society. Brabant is highly experienced in this area and several successful experiments have been carried out. Unfortunately, until now, nothing of this kind has been realised on a large scale in Brabant. Therefore, Smart Care was launched in 2008 by the province. The province links partners and stimulates projects that will speed up and further spread the use of ICT in care.
Network
By creating a network of cooperating partners from Brabant’s business world, authorities and healthcare and knowledge institutes, the province has launched eleven investment projects that are taking place in Brabant between 2009 and 2011. Financial support is provided by the province through the Smart Care subsidy scheme. The projects aim to further develop the existing and successful ICT applications in the healthcare sector. Partners exchange the acquired knowledge and experience within the network, for example, at seminars. This exchange also takes place on a larger scale in the Netherlands and at a European level through the knowledge exchange project PEOPLE and the E-he@lth network of the Assembly of European Regions (AER).
The partners actively involve the elderly and chronically ill in their investment projects and the overall exchange of knowledge since it is their wishes, needs and experiences that matter.