Innovation
Encourage and enhance innovation to help better prevent illnesses, increase the effectiveness of treatments and enhance the quality of life and satisfaction of patients, residents, families, employees and other stakeholders.
Medical and academic research
Stimulate and take part in medical research and health innovation in order to improve prevention & treatment of chronic diseases and contribute to the evolution of care practices.
As a major player in the world of care and health, dedicated to providing support in times of vulnerability, Clariane considers that actively participating in and encouraging medical research into chronic and disabling diseases and changes in care practices is a priority.
The Research and Medical Departments and the Foundations supported by the Group carry out scientific research themselves or support programmes implemented as part of collaborative scientific work with their academic partners. In 2022, 109 scientific papers were produced based on this research, including 21 scientific articles published in indexed journals. The main themes of these articles were respiratory rehabilitation and psychiatry.
Next steps
- Launch six European applied medical research projects with partner academic institutions, focusing on the treatment of depression in the elderly, the early detection of executive dysfunction, the prevention of the risk of falls, and post-stroke neurorehabilitation.
- Rally the medical community around actions linked to the Group’s priority research topics (participation in congresses, involvement of external experts, think tanks promoting exchanges between countries, etc.).
- Create an online knowledge-sharing platform to promote the Group’s scientific output.
Technological innovations
Develop technologies to improve the lives of vulnerable and isolated people and our employees.
Technological innovation is a formidable driver for addressing the Group’s social, societal and environmental challenges. The main objectives of the technological solutions developed by the Group are to:
- strengthen and personalise the care and services provided to residents, patients and their families;
- enable employees to carry out their tasks in the best possible conditions;
- improve comfort and safety for all;
- reduce the Group’s environmental footprint.
Based on the numerous experiments carried out in the network and the needs expressed by business communities and users, the Group has defined three categories of technologies to be deployed as a priority in all its countries of operation:
- Fall prevention and detection systems
In France, following a successful trial in 2021, a fall detection, analysis and prevention system is being progressively rolled out. This non-intrusive, image-free technology reconstructs the configuration of the room in the form of a point cloud and alerts the nursing staff in the event of a fall or if the resident concerned has been out of their bed for an abnormally long period of time, as this may indicate a risk of falling. In Germany, the Lindera fall prevention app is used by about 100 facilities (i.e. around half of the network) and is still being rolled out. Based on a video recording of the resident’s movements and answers to a questionnaire covering the main psychosocial risk factors for falls, the app assesses the resident’s risk of falling and generates personalised recommendations for preventive measures.
- Mobile apps aiming to facilitate day-to-day life for employees in care facilities
In France, the Koala app, a mobile digital companion for employees working in care facilities, was developed in 2022. Its objective is to simplify daily and administrative tasks and reduce the associated workload by facilitating the sharing of information in real time, the digitisation of procedures, and the centralisation and interconnection of existing tools. The app will be tested in pilot facilities in 2023. In Belgium, the Clariane Konnect corporate social network was deployed in 2021, and training to facilitate its adoption continued in 2022. The app was developed to facilitate communication within the same facility, between facilities, and between facilities and the head office.
- Digital tools for communication between residents, families and facilities
E-lio, a product of Technosens, a start-up in which Clariane has a majority stake, is a digital platform specifically designed to help residents and their loved ones maintain social ties (videotelephony, messages, photos, etc.) and promote the sharing of information between facilities, residents and families through the Korian Familles app. This app, which can be accessed by all family members, lets the user generate a paper diary containing the photos and messages sent to the resident during the week. The entire French network of retirement homes has also been equipped with connected television sets, which can be used to broadcast news from the facility in shared areas and organise video calls with families. The gradual deployment of individual platforms in rooms is continuing.
Next steps
- Deploy a solution in all our countries of operation corresponding to the three priority technological needs identified by the Group.