Tele2 IoT & Cuviva: Connected Healthcare

IoT is instrumental in the rise of connected healthcare, and Sweden’s Cuviva is at the forefront of the this revolution, offering a solution that reins in costs while giving vulnerable patients real-time personalised communication with healthcare professionals, delivering better and more equal healthcare for everyone.

Cuviva, founded in 2016 is one of those rare companies that is driving a market that didn’t exist before they identified a problem. The company saw that even though connected healthcare was evolving, there remained an obvious gap between the equipment and resources provided by healthcare and the technology available.

“Despite the digital revolution, there are still 1.1 million people in Sweden alone who are not connected on a daily basis – and if you’re not connected you are not going to be able to take advantage of the many benefits offered by digital healthcare,” explains Henrik Cederqvist, Founder and CEO Cuviva. “The people who can most benefit from connected healthcare, such the elderly with multiple chronic health issues and patients with both cognitive and motoric disabilities, are the same people who are least likely to be connected.  Add ageing populations into the mix and it was obvious to us something needed to be done.”

The case at a glance

What Cuviva did was develop a ground-breaking digital system that delivers safe, connected healthcare to a patient’s home while keeping costs down. With Tele2 IoT connectivity at the heart of the Cuviva connected healthcare revolution, even the most vulnerable patients are able to enjoy increased quality of life.

“Sweden spends more than 250 billion SEK on healthcare annually,” says Cederqvist. “Second-stage elderly patients – those with multiple chronic conditions in their twilight years – make up about 50% of that budget.  At the same time, the mindset of traditional healthcare today is to give care, not to give health.

The Cuviva solution

The tools Cuviva provides are simple to use: patients are given a dedicated computer that is connected to their healthcare center via the connectivity infrastructure provided by Tele2 IoT. The patient answers a short list of daily health questions and by using connected sensors the patient’s vital parameters are automatically reported. Such vital parameters include e.g. weight, blood pressure, saturation, pulse, fever thermometer and blood sugar levels. Private VPN transfers the data, which is screened in real time before being securely stored. In order to ensure true patient privacy there is two factor authorization – pin code and palm reader are examples of factor alternatives – which is provided in a way that the most fragile are included.

Patients decide who can access their records and data in an ongoing dialogue. There are virtual face-to-face meetings with healthcare providers, who have the patient’s medical records in front of them, allowing them to compare the patient’s medical history to what is happening in real time, getting a full view of the situation. Additionally, concerned friends or relatives can, with permission, take part in those meetings, as well as access health data.

“This lets friends or relatives to ask pertinent questions and be involved in the decision-making process,” says Cederqvist. “It is also good from the perspective of the healthcare providers. Some patients may have cognitive problems so having a supportive friend or relative joining the calls means everyone is getting the information needed in order to provide the best care.

“And because concerned parties may not live locally, this easily allows them to be an integral part of the process. Again, healthcare should be given on the patients’ terms and involve all parties. With Cuviva we can offer sustainable healthcare that is truly democratic.”

Why choose Tele2 IoT?

As Cuviva expands its connected healthcare solution to other areas, such as post-acute care, post-operative care, and care for women with challenging pregnancies, the need for a reliable IoT provider is mission critical.

“We chose Tele2 IoT because they bring a secure solution for connecting and that is vital for our solution, because health data must be kept private at all costs,” explains Cederqvist. “There is also good scalability in the infrastructure and we have the possibility to integrate and build our services on the Tele2 IoT platform. We need to know that our solution will work and Tele2 IoT is a key partner in making that happen.

Roaming has been key when servicing more remote areas, and Cuviva uses 2CONTROL (Cisco IoT Control Center) in order to manage SIMs and connectivity, no matter where they are operating. With 2ACCESS the company is able to transfer data securely with a private VPN.

From impersonal to personal

For a long time, it seemed like personalized healthcare was going the way of doctors making house calls. Now, with Cuviva and connected healthcare, technology is actually helping engagement on a very real and important level.

“The impersonal healthcare most of us have experienced for years is becoming more personalized with that most impersonal of things: technology and IoT,” says Henrik Cederqvist. “Working with Tele2 IoT as a partner means we can provide a global solution because Tele2 IoT delivers everything we need – and we can do it anywhere.”