MUMC+ Centrum voor Thuisbeademing

Develop a strategy that promotes sustainable use of disposables in home mechanical ventilation (HMV) by reducing waste and costs, while maintaining healthcare quality and involving patients, suppliers, and care centers in sustainability efforts.

The Project

The Project

The CTBs and Vivisol are involved in initiatives targeting quality, financial efficiency, and sustainability, as part of the Green Deal for sustainable healthcare.
The focus is on optimizing the use of disposables, exploring re-use and reduction possibilities.

Current regulations prioritize zero risk, leading to strict protocols. Re-use but also refuse would be a good principle to analyze and see what is possible. The regulations are very strict and targeting to zero risk, recorded in protocol. But is this necessary? Is all the packaging necessary? Is daily delivery necessary? What does the patient want to contribute and how can the CTB accomplish this? What will be the role of the supplier? This must be seen in the context of the patient and a psychological need to have a certain stock. What can be done in the triangle of patient, CTB and supplier?

This PREMIUM project seeks to address specifically this issues; whether all packaging and daily deliveries are necessary, and how patients, suppliers, and centers can contribute to more sustainable practices. Additionally, it considers patients’ psychological need for stock security within this context.

We therefore need the PREMIUM team to develop a strategy that encourages sustainable ordering and usage behaviors for disposables in HMV, with the aim to reduce costs and material waste, while maintaining healthcare quality. This model could be scaled up nationwide and serve as an example for other chronic disease management programs, fostering responsible patient participation in sustainability efforts.

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Design-oriented

In this project, the focus is on “creating something new”

The Client

The Client

In the Netherlands there are only four centres (Centra Thuisbeademing, CTB) being responsible for all patients who need Home Mechanical Ventrilation (HMV).
In Maastricht’s MUMC+, the department of Lung Diseases hosts one of those centres for Home Mechanical Ventrilation.

Nationwide criteria for referral and initiation of HMV are stated in a national guideline (Richtlijn Chronische Beademing van de Federatie Medisch Specialisten) and there is an national learning management system (LMS) for all caregivers and professionals.

The four centres collaborate in many areas. This applies to joint purchasing of disposables and equipment. As for disposables, there is a contract with the supplier Vivisol and the four centres. This contract is about € 4 million in financial size, over 1300 types of disposables and serves about 4400 patients in the Netherlands.

Formal Client

This client provides an assignment and perceives the team of students as consultants doing a job for them. The formal client provides guidance and supports the team with feedback, but is not actively involved in project execution.