iProcureSecurity

iProcureSecurity represented the preparation of a follow-up Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP) project. It achieved this goal by defining the specifications of the technical requirements for an innovative solution to be developed during the PCP action. The solution is intended to tackle a major problem in the area of Triage Management Systems.

iProcureSecurity established a comprehensive overview on capability gaps and challenges in main EMS areas such as, for example, but not limited to Ambulance Services, Safety and Situational Awareness, Medical Equipment and Triage Systems. The consortium combined this extensive list with insights on the current state of the art to provide initial ideas for potential solutions It achieved this goal by engaging and collecting the experience of more than 900 EMS practitioners and decision makers from all organisational levels from across Europe through surveys, conferences, workshops and webinars. 

To prioritize the opportunities for innovations and capabilities in the european EMS ecosystem that can be developed through the PCP process, the project created a full overview on the EMS ecosystem and defined 9 comprehensive scenarios based on EMS main tasks including frequent as well as rare events. The scenarios covered real life cases such as heart attack, road traffic accident, diabetes, stroke and falls. Furthermore, close cooperation with other R&D projects, such as NO-FEAR, SEARCH & RESCUE, FASTER, FIRE-IN etc. from the domain were established and more than 100 innovative solutions were mapped to capture the state of the art as well as new technological domains which will become of relevance to the EMS field.

Overall, the iProcureSecurity consortium screened more than 340 challenges, gaps and innovation needs. Based on the clear user requirements and an in-depth market analysis the project selected the area of Triage Management Systems where one specific challenge will be addressed in the PCP phase. It also identified the connected ethical, legal and societal aspects to be considered in the preparation of the PCP as well as ethical requirements to be taken into account. Consequently, the consortium established that, compared to other relevant areas, the demand for innovation in triage management is not only complex but also holds the key for an increased interoperability of practitioners who should be able to work in concert in critical and rapidly changing scenarios. This affects not only the cross-border level but is already of relevance in many cases on a regional basis, where different EMS organisations and further first line responders have to work together more efficiently.

Last, to make the processes easier to handle but also ensure that all interested parties can participate on equal footing, iProcureSecurity created and evaluated the tender documents constituting the basis for the PCP action. It did so by sharing the documents with participants of the Expert and Advisory Board and other network members. The documents are openly accessible on the iProcureSecurity Open Information Hub to enable people and organizations to have a solid framework of sample documents that show how a PCP is established. 

Keywords

Emergency Medical Services, capability gaps, innovation needs, Triage Management System, Pre-Commercial Procurement (PCP), tender documents