Monsenso Implements The Shape Up Method

Monsenso Implements The Shape Up Method

Monsenso has moved on from Scrum and are now using The Shape Up Method. This has meant changes …. in a good way.

With Shape Up we focus on an appetite and cycles instead of focusing on sprints and estimates. Some will say same, same, but we believe there is a difference.

The appetite for a project defines the length of a cycle. This means that we work on narrowing down the problem and designing the outline of a solution that fits within the constraints of our appetite.

With this approach, time is fixed, but scope is variable. Cycles are long enough to build something meaningful start-to-finish and short enough that everyone can feel the deadline looming from the start, so the time is spent wisely.

The method consist of three major parts: Shaping, Betting and Building.
The work is shaped prior to starting a cycle. Shaping results in a Pitch, which outlines the problem and the solution, as well as no-gos and possible rabbit holes. The pitch is concrete enough that the team know what to do, yet abstract enough that there is room to work out the interesting details themselves.

Next, the pitches are brought to the Betting table, where it is decided what pitches should be worked on in the forthcoming cycle. This is the only official meeting within the Shape Up method, which is a plus according to our developing team.

“One meeting in the shape up method – the Betting Table – which means there’s no unnecessary meetings. Meetings, which would otherwise take time away from actual development.”

Then the Building begins. Here, full responsibility is given to the team. They define their own tasks, make adjustments to the scope, and work together to build vertical slices of the product one at a time.

With Shape Up, we all work towards a common goal within a cycle. The development team brings the rest of the company along for the ride, as they demo their work during the cycle. This way, every employee is updated on the work being done, and everyone has a chance to give feedback. With this, everyone gets to be a part of the process. This has brought the team closer to the product and closer together.

The results so far: the organisation has been brought closer to the product and closer together and the speed with which we are producing usable features for our customers has significantly increased. We are learning everyday and believe there is still a lot of things we can improve using Shape Up.

If this sounds like something, you want to be a part of, apply for a spot on our team as a Software Developer.

You can find the job post here.

For more information about the Shape Up method, you can check out this podcast from the company, who invented the method, 37signals.

They also have a free book on the method, which you can check out here.

Monsenso signs major new agreement with a European capital

Monsenso signs major new agreement with a European capital

Monsenso has been elected the best bidder in a public tender and signs a framework agreement to deliver its digital solution to support health services in a European capital.

The framework agreement makes it possible for the city, the university, a hospital and other health institutions in the area to purchase Monsenso’s validated digital health solution and associated services for 30 months with the possibility to prolong for two times five years.

The signing of the framework agreement comes with initial million-kroner orders to implement and operate Monsenso’s solution for 30 months to digitally support and increase access to services for young people with mental health challenges and for people with addiction.

Service users are provided with an app, which is used to collect real-time patient-reported information and to give self-help information and guidance between consultations. Health professionals gain access to a clinical web portal to follow their patients remotely and gain valuable information about behaviour, symptoms and adherence to treatment. This enables clinicians to provide a data-driven treatment and allows for proactive follow-up. In addition, the solution supports communication between service users and therapists.

The potential of this framework agreement is significant. It comes with an initial order that will generate recurring revenue for Monsenso in the coming years, and the potential from other departments and entities within the city already covered by the framework agreement as well as similar European cities is substantial” says Thomas Lethenborg, CEO of Monsenso. “Addiction and youth mental illness are both large burdens of disease and affect far too many people, so we are proud to contribute to providing better access to high-quality services in the city”.

Further information:

Monsenso:

CEO
Thomas Lethenborg
Tel. +45 21 29 88 27
E-mail: lethenborg@monsenso.com 

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Monsenso participates in MENTBEST – a European community-based and personalised digital intervention project

Monsenso participates in MENTBEST – a European community-based and personalised digital intervention project

The new European intervention project MENTBEST will deliver an innovative and comprehensive community-based intervention programme and a personalised digital application based on Monsenso’s solution to prevent and mitigate the mental health challenges associated with dramatic and rapid change in Europe. 

European societies are severely impacted by global trends such as war, economic crisis, climate changes, migration, pandemics, and ageing population. These megatrends can negatively affect people’s psychological health and wellbeing – with vulnerable groups being at particular risk. Thus scalable intervention programmes are needed to build resilience and enhance self-help competency to prevent mental illness.

Therefore, the European Union is funding the design and delivery of validated community-based interventions and innovative technologies to empower individuals from vulnerable groups to better manage mental health challenges associated with dramatic and rapid change in Europe. During the MENTBEST project, interventions will be delivered to communities in five different countries, namely Albania, Estonia, Greece, Ireland, and Spain. The project is led by the European Alliance Against Depression, and includes a consortium of 14 European partners with an extensive range of expertise. 

As part of the intervention project, an AI-enabled app based on Monsenso’s digital health platform will be developed and trialed to help prevent mental illness among high-risk groups, particularly migrants/refugees, older people, younger people, long-term unemployed, and those already struggling with their mental health. The goal of the AI-enabled personalised self-care program is to allow vulnerable people to use their long-term smartphone-generated data to support their mental health self-management. 

“The ambition of MENTBEST is to increase resilience and self-help competencies of people most often left behind in times of rapid and dramatic societal changes.”, explains Professor Ulrich Hegerl, MENTBEST Project Coordinator and President of the European Alliance Against Depression.

“Timely access to evidence-based support has the potential to empower vulnerable people to reduce the risk of developing mental illnesses. We are looking forward to participating in MENTBEST and expanding our platform to provide personalised, AI-driven self-care programs to people at high risk of facing difficulties with their mental health.”, says Thomas Lethenborg, CEO at Monsenso. 

The MENTBEST app will be trialed in Denmark, Germany, and Spain under the leadership of Professor Lars Kessing and Associate Professor Maria Faurholt-Jepsen from Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark.

“The project builds on our year-long research experience with digital mental health for more severe mental health illnesses. We see great potential in digital, data-driven mental health also for mild to moderate conditions and consequently look forward to driving the digital intervention part of the MENTBEST project with Monsenso”, says Maria Faurholt-Jepsen, Associate professor at Mental Health Services in the Capital Region of Denmark.

Facts
Project title: MENTBEST
Total budget: DKK 52.1 mio.
Net contribution to Monsenso: DKK 5.7 mio.
Duration: 5 years

About the partners
The project is led by the European Alliance Against Depression. The consortium entails leading experts in mental health promotion, resilience, wellbeing and primary prevention of disorders, mental disorders and suicide prevention, mental health in the workplace, mental health in children and adolescents, mental health in old age and experts in e-mental health and support technology, public policy, public education and evaluation. The consortium members are European Alliance Against Depression Ev, Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (Portugal), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain), National Suicide Research Foundation (Ireland), Region Hovedstaden (Denmark), Det Nationale Forskningscenter for Arbejdsmiljø (Denmark), Eesti-Rootsi Vaimse Tervise ja Suitsidoloogia Instituut (Estonia), Stiftung Deutsche Depressionshilfe Und Suizidpraevention (Germany), Qendres Se Shendetit Dhe Mireqenies Komunitare (Albania), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium), Pintail Ltd (Ireland), Kentro Erevnon Notioanatolikis Evropis Astiki Mi Kerdoskopiki Etaireia (Greece), and Fundacio Institut Hospital del Mar D’Investigacions Mèdiques (Spain).

Further information:
Monsenso:
CEO
Thomas Lethenborg
Tel. +45 21 29 88 27
E-mail: lethenborg@monsenso.com 

Certified Adviser:
Norden CEF A/S
John Norden
Tel. +45 20 72 02 00
E-mail: jn@nordencef.dk

Healthcare as a business case: Which importance is placed on societal impact vs economic impact?

Healthcare as a business case: Which importance is placed on societal impact vs economic impact?

Over the past decade, public spending on health in Denmark has been above the EU average. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, government spending on healthcare has grown by more than 5% in 2020 alone [1], reaching total healthcare expenditures of DKK 270.794m in 2021 [2]. But how does Denmark decide which new treatment approaches to spend money on, and does the societal impact of healthcare measures play an equally important role as their economic impact?

Though member states of the European Union are not precluded from “releasing marketing authorisations valid at national level” for new medicines/treatments, EU-wide marketing authorisations require new treatments to go through a centralised authorisation procedure managed by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), which evaluates the pharmaceutical quality, safety, and efficacy of new treatments [3]. However, whereas obtaining marketing authorisation on an EU level allows providers to offer their new medicines/treatments, it is mainly the national health authorities’ decisions on reimbursement and pricing measures that affect if patients will have access to them [3]. 

In Denmark, the Danish Medicines Council (Medicinrådet) is an important body that assesses new treatment approaches and makes recommendations related to which medicines/treatments should be used in the Danish healthcare system [4]. Typically, cost-effectiveness and the impact on the healthcare budget are two important economic factors that national health authorities consider during such evaluations [3]. But what about the societal impact of new treatments? Does it receive sufficient consideration during the assessment procedures? 

Let’s take innovative digital health solutions as an example. If we purely consider the direct economic costs digital health solutions for mental health can help to reduce, such as the costs for (re)hospitalisation (e.g., DKK 6.000 per day), do we really get a full picture of the value of these innovations in healthcare? Potentially not, as the societal impact would not have been considered.

For instance, we would have not taken into account that digital health solutions for mental health can significantly improve the quality of life of individuals suffering from mental disorders [5], or that these innovations can enable mentally ill individuals to better recover and return to work faster. Neither would we have considered that digital solutions can facilitate making better use of resources available in the future, for instance by helping clinicians to handle growing patient data volumes they often feel overwhelmed with [6]. 

The societal impact of new treatments may be more difficult to quantify than the pure health economic impact, but we believe it is an important factor to consider when evaluating innovative approaches. At Monsenso, we have made it our mission to enable better mental health for more people at lower costs, and the positive societal impacts and increased quality of life that we help generate are as important to us as the pure health economic impact.
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About Monsenso
Monsenso is an innovative technology company offering a digital health solution used for decentralised trials, remote patient monitoring and treatment support. Our mission is to contribute to improved health for more people at lower costs by supporting treatment digitally and leveraging patient-reported outcomes data. Our solution helps optimise the treatment and gives a detailed overview of an individual’s health through the collection of outcome, adherence, and behavioural data. It connects individuals, carers, and healthcare providers to enable personalised treatment, remote care, and early intervention. We collaborate with health and social care, pharmaceuticals, and leading researcher worldwide in our endeavors to deliver solutions that fit into the life of patients and healthcare professionals. To learn more visit  www.monsenso.com

References: 

[1] European Commission (2021). State of Health in the EU · Denmark · Country Health Profile 2021.
https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/docs/librariesprovider3/country-health-profiles/chp2021pdf/denmark-countryhealthprofile2021.pdf?sfvrsn=e79f1c55_7&download=true

[2] Statistics Denmark (n.d.). Health care expenditure.
https://www.dst.dk/en/Statistik/emner/oekonomi/offentlig-oekonomi/udgifter-til-sundhed

[3] European Parliament (2015). Towards a Harmonised EU Assessment of the Added Therapeutic Value of Medicines.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2015/542219/IPOL_STU(2015)542219_EN.pdf

[4] Medicinrådet (n.d.). Danish Medicines Council.
https://medicinraadet.dk/om-os/in-english

[5] Monsenso (2022). Key research findings.
https://www.monsenso.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Monsenso-Key-Research-Findings.pdf

[6] Elsevier Health (2022). Clinician of the Future Report 2022.
https://www.elsevier.com/connect/clinician-of-the-future

Stress Awareness Month 2023

Stress Awareness Month 2023

April is Stress Awareness Month, which aims to shine light on stress and its consequences on our well-being, removing stigma and shame around mental health.  

Stress is our bodies’ and brains’ response to environmental changes or adverse events [1;2]. When we experience a situation that provokes stress in us, we either react to it positively (pro-adaptively) and are able to adjust to the situation well, or we react negatively (maladaptively) and struggle to cope with the situation.

Most people feel stressed at times throughout their life. For some, the stress just lasts for a moment or a short period. For others, it, unfortunately, prevails longer and can have debilitating consequences [3]. Negative responses to stress often present themselves as “a state of worry or […] tension” and can have both physiological and mental effects [1;2]. Chronic stress has not only been identified as a major risk factor for mental illnesses, such as anxiety or depression, but has also been linked to physical illnesses, such as cardiovascular and metabolic diseases [2].

In Denmark, the number of adults experiencing stress has increased significantly over the last few years. In 2021, elevated stress levels were recorded among 29% of the adult population, with 16–24-year-olds being the most affected age group [3].

For some people, practicing mindfulness and making smaller life changes, such as establishing a daily routine, creating better eating habits, and exercising regularly can help alleviate stress levels. For others, when stress becomes chronic and begins affecting one’s mental and physical health, seeking professional help can bring relief and help people improve their well-being.
However, many individuals struggling with their mental health do not seek treatment out of fear of being stigmatized and treated “differently […] or losing their jobs and livelihood” [4].

This is where digital health solutions for mental health offer an opportunity to empower individuals suffering from stress to better manage their own mental health and regain control over how stressful situations impact them. At Monsenso, we have worked with a variety of mental health disorders in both research and clinical settings. Our digital mental health solution has helped many individuals struggling with their mental health to better understand their conditions and live a more independent life. We are proud to support Stress Awareness Month and will continue to spread knowledge about mental health conditions and offer our support to individuals affected.
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About Monsenso
Monsenso is an innovative technology company offering a digital health solution used for decentralised trials, remote patient monitoring and treatment support. Our mission is to contribute to improved health for more people at lower costs by supporting treatment digitally and leveraging patient-reported outcomes data. Our solution helps optimise the treatment and gives a detailed overview of an individual’s health through the collection of outcome, adherence, and behavioural data. It connects individuals, carers, and healthcare providers to enable personalised treatment, remote care, and early intervention. We collaborate with health and social care, pharmaceuticals, and leading researcher worldwide in our endeavors to deliver solutions that fit into the life of patients and healthcare professionals. To learn more visit  www.monsenso.com

References:
[1] World Health Organization (2023). Stress.
https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/stress

[2] Musazzi, L., Tornese, P., Sala, N., & Popoli, M. (2017). Acute or chronic? A stressful question. Trends in Neurosciences, 40(9), 525-535.

[3] Sundhedsstyrelsen (2022). Tal og fakta om stress.
https://sst.dk/da/Viden/Forebyggelse/Mental-sundhed/Stress/Tal-og-fakta 

[4] American Psychiatric Association (n.d.). Stigma, Prejudice and Discrimination Against People with Mental Illness.
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/stigma-and-discrimination#:~:text=Public%20stigma%20involves%20the%20negative,have%20about%20their%20own%20condition.