Digital autonomy and patient control offer healthcare providers reduced administrative burdens and therefore more time for care tasks. Based on this shared vision, Health Cloud Initiative (HCI) and Quli have sought each other out. With HCI as the sole shareholder, digital health platform or PGO Quli is entering a new phase, says director Hans ter Brake: “Our social ambition remains. And with HCI, we are opting for a more business-like approach.”
Quli and HCI are not random passers-by for each other. Both companies are pioneers in the field of digital care in their own way. HCI has the ambition to reduce the administrative burden of care providers to an absolute minimum and to optimally support care providers in the changes in the care sector. HCI does this by offering care providers innovative electronic patient records and e-health solutions.
Quli operates from the firm belief that care will be better and more efficient if care recipients can fully participate digitally. Quli -short for Quality of Life- has developed a digital health platform for this purpose with more than 50.000 connections.
Digital participation
According to Ter Brake, greater digital participation of citizens should be a no-brainer. “You will have to give people autonomy and control, because otherwise healthcare will no longer be able to cope. We can no longer afford it or staff it. Healthcare is still taking on administrative tasks that other sectors, such as banks, retail and the travel industry, have long since said goodbye to. They have reduced their administration and greatly improved their services by allowing the client to participate digitally. But in healthcare, you are often still digitally excluded. You have no idea what has been recorded about you. You do not have access to your data and you do not have the digital capabilities to manage your own process.”
Pension overview
With the introduction of the MedMij agreement system for safe and standardised data exchange in 2018, some progress has been made. But according to Ter Brake, the emphasis in the introduction of MedMij standards is still too much on simply making data available.
Healthcare consumer
Ter Brake: “I compare it to the pension overview. You can't do much with that. Then you have that data and then? That is also the MedMij thinking that is in the minds of many people. Give that patient his data, then he won't whine anymore. But the healthcare consumer wants more. He wants to be a digital part of the care pathway. He wants to have at least all his data. And he wants services so that he can participate digitally. If that patient is a fully-fledged digital part of the care process, things can be different and better.”
Exchange of patient data
With HCI, Quli has a partner who wants to work on good access and exchange of patient data. "By making that data available to the healthcare consumer, you involve the patient in his treatment and stimulate therapy compliance," said founder Eric de Boer of HCI earlier to Dutch Health Hub.
Disability care and mental health care
As far as Ter Brake is concerned, the collaboration with HCI heralds a new phase in the development of Quli. Five providers of care for the disabled and mental health took the initiative to develop a digital environment that would give residents, clients and their loved ones control over life, health and care. IT company Ordina was brought in as a developer during this pioneering phase.
In order to take the initiative to a higher level, Quli was transformed into a BV exactly ten years ago. In addition to the healthcare providers involved and Ordina, NextGen Ventures also participated.
With the exit of the investment company, Quli had to look for a new shareholder. “We then asked whether it would not be wise to go to one shareholder with a more business-like approach,” says Ter Brake. “After a market survey, HCI stood out. We are very happy that we have come to business. In combination with Uw Zorg Online we can quickly make the Quli idea and functionality available to a large population of care recipients”
Social objective
In Quli, HCI finds a company with a clear social objective. That objective is closely linked to its history. “Quli is not for every user. From our background, we focus primarily on people in vulnerable circumstances and their loved ones,” Ter Brake explains.
“Quli's motto is 'lifelong and lifewide'. We are not only concerned with care, but also with education, daytime activities and work, in short: meaningfully supporting the user's life. If Quli were a person, it would be a butler. Quli stands behind and next to you, does the things you need or knows what you need to do. In addition, we focus explicitly on the support network of family, loved ones and friends.”
More than PGO
In Ter Brake's view, Quli is more than just a PGO. "Quli was already around for eight years before MedMij started. We have continued to develop. For example, look at how we incorporated positive health. That has nothing to do with MedMij. That is why I always talk about Quli as a health platform with PGO facilities or MedMij data access."
“I often compare Quli with the TUI app. You book your entire trip, from airport and airline to bus, hotel and excursions, with one app. And if something happens, you can contact them digitally so that you can be helped further. You can also make a trip like that in healthcare. If you have a disability, you always have to deal with multiple parties. Then you need a travel companion.”