Supporting eHealth Innovations: an Insurer's Perspective

摘要

Health care insurers play a vital role in the implementation of eHealth and other care innovations within the health care sector. Yet, very little is said in the literature about how innovations are being evaluated by insurers, and what criteria are being used to do so. This paper describes the results of a case study into the evaluation process and criteria of a large health care insurer in The Netherlands. The results show that experts from several departments within the insurer are involved, that these experts each bring their own set of criteria to the table, and that the decision to provide support for an innovation (e.g., by funding its wider implementation or by reimbursing its use) is based on consensus between these experts. Based on these results, an interactive website was developed to better inform entrepreneurs, project managers, researchers and other people active in the field of eHealth innovation about the insurer's role and criteria for supporting eHealth innovations.