Mohanet (Vario Medcare/Vario Healthcare)

Hungary

2006

The service is meant to develop Hungarian IP-based integrated mobile remote monitoring systems to allow older people, with a high level of functional limitations, to live independently and to support their informal carers.

The company, set-up in 2009, works in diverse areas (delivering services or contracting them out): property and fire protection, emergency aid systems, security patrol systems, lifts, mobile communication, remote monitoring of vehicles, logistics, systems related to eldercare, creation of intelligent communities. The wide range of activity and market expansion has enabled them to continuously develop.

The classic “Medcare” launched in 2009 in the social welfare system aimed at helping care recipients to live independently.

The newly developed Vario Medcare intends to allow older people, with more serious cognitive problems to live independently, and to support informal carers, through many different functions such as localisation, monitoring vital signs, request for immediate help, monitoring therapy, contact with an operator and request for services. In addition, the service operates securely diminishing the risk of malfunctions.

 Care Recipients
 Informal carers
 Paid assistants
 Formal carers

Not available

 Independent Living
 Information and learning for carers
 Personal Support and Social Integration for carer
 Care coordination

The services provided ease the burden of care recipients and informal carers, facilitate independent living, perform localisation, monitor vital signs, send requests for immediate help, monitor therapy, allow contact with an operator and service requests.

-Vario Medcare: the mobile device

-Supervision: call for help to a caregiver in emergencies – supervision in real time, 24 hours-a-day

-Protection: in case of getting lost outside of the home, the older person could easily be found through GPS – person protection

-Monitoring: Medical instruments can send data on vital signs to the service’s health and social portal (www.telemedbook.com) through the mobile device. The social portal is a health supervision social network, where users - manually or with the help of „Vario Medcare the mobile Healthguardian” - can automatically collect information and measuring results of their status (e.g.: blood-pressure, blood-sugar, blood-oxygen, ECG, body weight, body temperature), furthermore they can also administer electronically the dosing and the date of intake of various medications (e.g.: insulin) or nutritional supplements (e.g.: vitamins, proteins). It is completely free to use, the connection can be made with a simple registration via the Internet.

-Phone communication: In case of emergencies, a dispatcher calls the older person to confirm the emergency is real. Furthermore older people can use the same system mobile phone calls.

Vario Healthcare, the unit package: Due to the Bluetooth connection, the company created a separate package to monitor blood-pressure, blood-glucose, electrocardiogram (ECG), and body-scale (bathroom scale) together with the mobile device.

Mohanet Company produces different kinds of devices that can communicate via bluetooth, two of which are specific for old people and are:

• The Vario Medcare, the mobile Healthguardian is a multifunction mobile device with easy handling, which is suitable for automatic localization, monitoring, panic signalling, emergency call, remote care and phoning doctor call-center as well. Users can ask for help from their family or the medical service provider by pushing the S.O.S. button on the display of Vario Medcare, the mobile Healthguardian or the button on the wrist-band alarm delivered in the basic package and meanwhile the exact location of the call can be identified. It is able to receive the medical devices’ measuring results via Bluetooth (e.g.: blood-pressure, blood-sugar, blood-oxygen, ECG, body weight, body temperature), which are automatically forwarded by name with data protection to the personal data-store of the health supervision social portal called www.telemedbook.com.
• The Vario Healthcare, the mobile health observant unit package contains such medical appliances, which can make actual health risk evaluation any time independently from the location. It automatically forwards the measuring results by name with data protection to the data-store of the www.telemedbook.com, which is - independently from the location - obtainable for the specialists, who can make immediate actions, co-operate in patient control or make tailor-made suggestions for health preservation.
• Monitoring software for companies/service providers (for the whole list of product and description see at http://www.mohanet.com/termek-katalogus2---en)

Both public and private

Public service funding: Government, Regional, Local Authorities, non-profit public entities

Not available

Other: please specify

• Private out of pocket: users pay for the service.
• Non-profit funding: charities, volunteer organisations, NGOs.

 

Two young engineers (Zsolt Mozgó, Zoltán Havasi) set-up this service with their own capital in 2006. They founded a company in 2009. At the time of their appearance, social services for older people, funded by local government, was an area largely covered by other firms, they targeted NGOs (such as the Hungarian Red Cross which operated 1600 devices, 40% of the total) and the market, for their expansion. Their strategy is to use technical developments, such as eliminating problems in the mobile system, in order to be competitive and offer a wide variety of services.

The device can only be bought through service providers. In the case of a local government service provider the company receives the state regulated payment through the local government. Until 2008, this was a mandatory service that all municipalities, with more than 10,000 residents, had to provide. From 2009 it has been available only on application. The Social Welfare Act specifies that the user cannot be required to pay more than 2% of his or her pension, in the case of a local government service provider. In the case of contracts with private service providers, the monthly fee is around 11 € (3000-4000 HUF), which also comprises use of the mobile phone, eliminating the need for a fixed-line phone.

Business model they use with service providers:

• One-time deployment fee (software installation and configuration)
• Licence fee for the monitoring software (monthly fee 5 €/device)
• Device costs

Advantages:

• The company provides a ready-to use platform for the service providers.
• It provides Machine to machine (M2M) solutions, i.e. technologies using wireless’ systems.

Other products from their portfolio can be used on the same installed system such as Alarm (flat alarm) and Navigator (such as vehicle alarm for older people).

Despite the financial and economic crises, the firm has expanded its revenues by at least 40% per year. Because of its low price and development, the service-linked product is spreading rapidly; subcontractors also use the firm’s systems.

Independent living can be prolonged with the use of the product, thereby reducing the macro-level costs of care. It becomes possible to replace residential care or limit the time it is needed. The care costs for healthcare institutions can also be reduced. Overall, the initiative has a good chance to increase number of its users.

Not available

 Authorities
 Private Care Sector
 Health and Social Care Systems
 Third Sector
 Private Companies

Not available

The Third Sector co-finances the initiative.

 Informal Carers
 Health Professionals
 Social Care Professionals
 Privately-Hired Care Assistants (inc. Migrant Care Workers)
 Volunteers

The company is managed by a , dynamic, highly qualified and professional team, which helps to enable the company to offer ever more complex services.

Not involved

5,001 - 10,000

• OTSZ (monitoring company, subsidiary): 1000 persons (via local governments)
• MOHANET (developer, sales department): 3800 persons (majority via local governments, individuals)

Total: ca. 5000 persons

The main promotional channels are:

• Websites (1 general, 1 thematic with professional blogs)
• Google ads
• List of awards on the website for supporting their claims about their excellence
• Blood pressure and blood sugar measuring point in the city centre of Budapest (social activities for older people)

This service can positively impact on the quality of life of :

- Older people, by facilitating their ability to live independently, and improving their health and social relationships.

- Informal carers, by helping them maintain their peace of mind

Other benefits:

- may increase the acceptability of ICT use by care recipients and informal carers (Scheer, 2013).

This service also could benefit:

- Private organisations that provide care, by helping to save costs and optimise resources.

- Companies and the labour market, by helping carers in reconcile care and work, thus avoiding the added costs for substituting/replacing the worker who has to stay at home with the care recipient (Scheer, 2013).

This service could have a positive effect on public authorities, the National Health System and social care services by helping to save the costs of home caring and hospitalisation through the prevention of falls and home accidents (Scheer, 2013).

Strengths:

1. The product has received significant recognitions:

• Microsoft "Your Business. Your Fame."-The Best Windows Azure Application Award 2012 Fame"
• XX. Hungarian Innovation Grand Prize 2012
• IT Business Leadership Award 2012 Special Award: The prize of Innovative ICT Solutions
• Informatics Award of Excellence 2011
• The Hungarian Product Grand Prize 2011
• National Innovation Special Award 2010
• IT Business Leadership Special Award 2010
• The Hungarian Grand Prize 2008
• Hungarian Quality Product Award 2008
• "PRIX SECURITY BRATISLAVA 2008" acknowledgment
• MicroCad Academic Conference 2005, 2006
• THE SAFETY TECHNOLOGY SOLUTION OF THE YEAR 2005, 2006
• Hungarian Innovation Award 2005
• Hungarian Innovation Alliance

2. The service is well integrated into the care network. Among partners there are property,- fire protection service providers, establishment operators, care institutes, logistic warehouse bases, manufacturing companies.The Mohanet Company ensures a high level of organisation and reliability, as well as the ability to react quickly and solve problems efficiently.

Opportunities:

1. Around 20% of services users requested them in order to ease their care burden, because they found Vario Medcare and Vario Health care useful in handling their daily caring tasks. This means that the service is effective enhancing the likelihood of future spread, as it is able to meet the clients needs.

Weaknesses:

1. It can be hard for older people who lack experience with technology to accept and understand the service in the beginning, but as it was specifically developed for older people (touch screen, large icons, simple menu) they can get used to it slowly.
2. No impact assessment has been carried out

Threats:

1. It could be difficult to be competitive in the different areas in which services are provided.

The technical solution can be used without difficulty by a wide range of service providers. In addition to local governments and companies, the device is also used by the non-profit sector (Hungarian Red Cross, which uses 40% of the devices).

The spread of innovative solutions for older age groups and their typical health problems is the result of mapping the needs and carrying out continuous development accordingly. It is used by the public, market and non-profit service providers alike. Thus all these results are likely to increase the initiative’s scalability and transferability.

References

http://www.mohanet.com/ , http://www.ourmobilecare.com/

Case study's update by Zsuzsanna Scheer, Export Manager of Mohanet, December 2013

 

Address: 1152 Budapest, Telek utca 7-9.
Phone: 0036(1) 271 11 41
Fax: 0036(1) 271 11 42
Email: info@mohanet.com