EMPOWER – Empowerment for Diabetes Patients

Looking at the current challenges in healthcare (e.g. increasing age of the population, increasing costs, demands for new treatment) it becomes clear that most healthcare systems must evolve from the doctor-centric production system of today to a more holistic, integrated person-centred system of the future. We must realise that we ourselves, are our own primary healthcare provider. Self-management of Diabetes patients not only contributes to their own healthcare but also enables them to be more in control of their disease. Patient empowerment is seen as an essential aspect of patient-centric care and identified as a main element of change for improved quality and safety in healthcare.

EMPOWER addresses the following challenges:

• Adaptive and secure patient pathways
  The patient’s self-management competences and preferences are adapted and improved iteratively.

• Supporting behaviour changes
  Patients can develop personalised action plans which include recommendations from the treating physicians and patients’ preferences

• Collecting observations of daily living
  Empower will help to collect data on vital, physical and mental parameters, concerning physical and lifestyle activities and medication compliance

• Semantic interoperability with existing Personal Health Applications
  The EMPOWER system will be based on established interoperability standards, aiming at integration with existing Personal Health solutions.

Patient Empowerment involves patients to a greater extent in their own healthcare process so that disease management becomes an integrated part of their daily life.

EMPOWER will develop a modular and standards-based Patient Empowerment Framework which facilitates the self-management of diabetes patients based on Personal Health Records (PHR) and on context-aware, personalised services. EMPOWER focuses on a patient-centric perspective that also involves healthcare professionals.