GENERAL INFO
Mid-Stage Hospital
At the mid stage, hospitals are actively engaging in innovation rather than just exploring it.
They already have some experience with pilots and collaborations, but the challenge shifts toward structuring innovation processes, integrating solutions into workflows, and ensuring sustainability. Hospitals at this level start to formalize their innovation management — moving from ad hoc pilots to coordinated projects that fit within broader clinical and organizational strategies.
Key Milestones at This Stage
Creation of a dedicated innovation office or digital health committee.
Completion of 2–3 pilot projects with structured evaluation frameworks.
Development of a clear process for onboarding startups/MedTech partners (legal, ethical, IT approval).
First efforts to measure outcomes and cost-effectiveness of implemented pilots.
Engagement with regional/national healthcare networks to share lessons.
Best Practice from the Field
Several hospitals have improved their innovation capacity by creating standardized pilot program frameworks with clear criteria for selection, ethics approval, and outcome measurement. This structured approach has been associated with higher pilot success rates, fewer administrative delays, and stronger trust with external partners.
Pitfalls to Avoid
Fragmented communication channels – Pilots often fail because departments don’t coordinate.
Establish a central coordination team to streamline communication.
Neglecting reimbursement pathways – Even promising pilots stall if there’s no financial
model.
Engage payers early to discuss sustainability of digital solutions.
Enabling environment for Digital Health Innovation
Understand MDR compliance when evaluating tools to avoid legal and reputational risks.
Map your current digital infrastructure to understand strengths and gaps in your digitalization journey.
Document the impact of pilot projects — this data can support reimbursement discussions with payers.
Nominate a digital champion — a doctor, nurse, or manager who can advocate for innovation internally.
Turn barriers into arguments for joining EU- or grant-funded projects that cover innovation costs
Provide startups with standardized data-collection protocols before starting a pilot.
Join at least one regional hub network to host international pilots.
Explore whether EU or national schemes can help co-finance pilot projects with innovators.
Pick one department (e.g., cardiology, oncology).
Define a pilot window of 3–6 months.
Set up a feedback routine: nurses fill a short checklist after use, patients complete a weekly survey, IT logs integration issues.
Share results monthly with hospital management.
Make it a rule that every pilot has a steering committee.
Minimum members: one clinician, one finance/management representative, one IT expert, and one patient representative.
Meet at kick-off, mid-point, and end of pilot to review progress
Identify one strategic priority (e.g., oncology diagnostics, diabetes monitoring).
Invite at least one startup, one payer/insurer, and one MedTech partner to form a PPP.
Draft appropriate documentation (e.g., a Memorandum of Understanding) defining funding responsibilities and how results will be shared.
Standardize reporting across departments — publish quarterly pilot updates internally.
Scouting & Recruitment of Startups
Explore whether EU or national schemes can help co-finance pilot projects with innovators
Identify how potential pilots can align with ongoing reforms in your national health system.
Does this pilot directly support a current national reform priority (e.g., digitalization, chronic disease management, cancer strategy)?
Will it integrate with existing national infrastructure (e.g., e-prescription, national EHR, EHDS)?
Could the results of this pilot be scaled to other hospitals in the region/country?
Have we involved policymakers or payers early to ensure alignment?
Do we have a plan to share outcomes with health authorities to influence policy?
When considering a pilot, check not only clinical outcomes but also whether it reduces waste, energy use, or costs. For example, does a telehealth system cut the number of unnecessary patient trips, or does a digital scheduling tool reduce missed appointments?
Start systematically linking pilots to national reform strategies. Use a simple framework that shows which initiative (oncology, chronic disease, prevention) each pilot contributes to.
Share this mapping internally to guide which projects should move from pilot to full adoption.
Go beyond reporting pilot outputs and start tracking longitudinal data, such as 12-month readmission rates, patient adherence, or follow-up visits.
Introduce patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) to capture how patients experience improvements in quality of life.
Compare current results with baseline data from before the pilot to show real-world impact over time.
Share your procurement and compliance checklist with startups before pilots.
Nominate 1–2 “digital champions” — a motivated clinician and/or manager — to mentor startups on hospital realities.
Before an event, prepare 2–3 concrete problems (e.g., “high readmission rates in COPD,
” “manual patient scheduling overload”).
Present these as short challenges, not long presentations.
Be open to unexpected solutions — even from outside your specialty.
Preparing hospitals through workshops
Collect small success stories and share them inside the hospital.
Document pilot results in a structured format that highlights outcomes, cost implications, and patient feedback, while also specifying system requirements and vendor responsibilities to ensure interoperability. Share these summaries with relevant authorities (e.g., Ministry of Health or regional bodies) to build credibility and support scaling.
Select a small team (1–2 clinicians, 1 IT staff member, 1 manager) to attend a pre-pilot workshop, ideally organized in cooperation with an innovation hub to ensure proper guidance on pilot readiness, workflows, and evidence requirements.
Define clear roles and responsibilities (e.g., clinicians record outcomes, IT ensures system fit, managers monitor cost impact).
Bring one concrete health-related challenge that the startup will address (e.g., “high readmissions in COPD patients”) so that preparation — including workflow mapping, data collection, and roles — is directly relevant to the real-world problem.
Identify and prioritize 2–3 problem areas.
Share these problems with hubs so scouting efforts attract relevant startups.
Involve clinical leads early to ensure problems are real and not just administrative.
Consider using hackathons as an initial approach to surface innovative solutions and engage multidisciplinary teams in tackling healthcare challenges.
Define clear priorities: Identify 2–3 concrete clinical or operational challenges (e.g., “reduce COPD readmissions,” “improve oncology data integration, ” or “optimize remote patient monitoring”).
Prepare a challenge brief: Summarize each challenge in one page, including background, current workflow, barriers, desired outcomes, and key performance indicators. This document helps startups understand your real needs.
Engage proactively: Present your challenges during the matchmaking session rather than waiting for unsolicited offers. This ensures that the dialogue is driven by genuine clinical demand and results in higher-quality matches.
Involve the right team: Bring at least one clinician, one IT specialist, and one project coordinator to the session to provide diverse perspectives during discussions.
Medical validation
You have participated in pilots or testbeds with startups and want to improve impact and efficiency.
You need to:
✓ Set up structured pilot processes
✓ Define success criteria and measure results
✓ Align innovation with clinical and operational goals
Hospitals are primarily responsible for verifying the clinical safety, usability, and effectiveness of digital solutions. Clinicians collect data on patient outcomes (e.g., healing times, adherence, recovery rates) and assess how the technology integrates into daily workflows.
Go beyond reporting pilot outputs and start tracking longitudinal data, such as 12-month readmission rates, patient adherence, or follow-up visits.
Introduce patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) to capture how patients experience improvements in quality of life.
Compare current results with baseline data from before the pilot to show real-world impact over time.
Expand the innovation group by including a patient representative or payer in pilot committees to increase credibility beyond the hospital.
Use a flowchart tool (or even presentation slides) to map how your clinicians, managers, and external payers connect in a pilot. For example: “cardiology department → hospital board → regional insurer.”
When running a pilot, invite a payer or insurer to join your steering committee. Even if they do not attend each session, engaging them in the committee builds trust and demonstrates transparency early in the process.
Technical integration
Hospitals provide technical requirements, data security standards, and integration testing environments.
earlyHTA
Hospitals validate assumptions with real-world evidence.