CarePath - Research for patient engagement and treatment adherence

RISE coordinates CarePath, a large-scale EU project designed to revolutionize the management of chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. The overall goal of the project is to radically improve patients' adherence and long-term persistence with their medications. This in turn will lead to significant improvements in the health and quality of life of individuals, while also contributing to significant cost savings and reduced burden on healthcare and health systems.

CarePath operates in 13 different European countries, and pilot studies in 6 countries, Sweden, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain. This wide geographical spread ensures that the solutions are relevant and adaptable to different care settings and socio-economic conditions.

At the heart of the project is a smart, AI-powered toolkit with learning algorithms. This innovative toolkit integrates existing digital and analogue health solutions and tailored modules, enabling real-time personalized support. The toolkit facilitates communication and data exchange between patients, health professionals and other stakeholders, strengthening the entire care chain. Particular emphasis is placed on making information available in an understandable and actionable way to counteract the effects of low health literacy.

Prior to the development of the toolkit, a comprehensive needs analysis and pre-study is carried out to map existing successful and less successful intervention strategies and identify barriers and opportunities. This is followed by intensive design work in close collaboration with ecosystem partners, including patients and health professionals, to tailor and optimize effective solutions.

The effectiveness of the toolkit will be tested and validated through four rigorous studies: three pilot studies conducted in 6 different countries of which Sahlgrenska, Sweden is a representative and finally a controlled Proof-of-Concept study conducted in Germany. These studies include patients in both primary and specialized care, with a particular focus on individuals at high risk of low adherence to treatment. They include patients using weight loss medications (such as dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonists), lipid-lowering drugs, insulin and SGLT2 inhibitors. CarePath thus aims to create a more sustainable, patient-centered and efficient future for the management of chronic diseases in Europe.