Public procurement notice: Contract Notice
Published: 2017-07-04
Buyer: Agencia Gallega para la Gestión del Conocimiento en Salud, ACIS (Health Knowledge Agency)
Country: ES
Contract type: Services
Procedure: Open procedure
CPV classification: 73100000
Estimated value: 187500 EUR
Submission deadline: 2017-08-31
Award criteria: The most economic tender
EU fund: Horizon Europe

Technical requirements: What is this? This procurement is for R&D services to develop solutions to tackle the following challenge:
To develop new, cost-effective, scalable, interoperable and non-intrusive Information and Communication Technology solutions for patients with chronic diseases, which provide self-management tools on adherence to their care plan and acknowledgement of their disease in order to increase their empowerment and management of life. To address the need for the solution to support patients with information, monitoring and data analysis of their disease evolution and communication with health professionals responsible for their care plan.
The rationale of the focus by EMPATTICS on these chronic conditions is based on the high incidence, the social costs of these diseases, and the impact that adherence has on them, as well as empirically observed experiences of modifiable self-management behaviours and ICT use in relation to them.
The intended EMPATTICS technological solutions will improve the level of knowledge and involvement of patients in the management of their disease and the prescribed treatments. This requires a multidisciplinary approach that encompasses the following aspects:
Solutions shall be developed considering patient/carers and healthcare professionals experience and preferences during both the design and implementation phases. The products and innovations achieved at this PCP shall arise through co-operation and co-creation between health-care organisations, professionals and patients/families. Bidders are expected to consider the involvement of end-users very early in the product design process. It must be considered that target users will be patients of each of the three chronic disease groups chosen by EMPATTICS (i.e., Diabetes, COPD and Heart failure), a combination of these, and even a combination of these with other conditions, at different stages of their onset and with different personal profiles (adults, elderly dependent/active people, etc.). Owing to this, patients/carers will have specific contexts, circumstances, motivations, preferences, levels of health literacy and digital competences. As the requested solutions must be highly usable and adaptable, bidders shall pay special attention to the use of an iterative design process, especially in phase 1 but also in phases 2 and 3.
The 3 selected diseases in the EMPATTICS project represent a major challenge for health systems across Europe, moving around 163 000 000 000 EUR in direct costs. The three diseases also impact on the wider social systems and economies of Member States, which are calling for adequate prevention and sustainable disease management technologies.
The main quality/efficiency improvements sought for have been agreed on as being solutions that can be demonstrated during the testing phase:
The metrics and/or indicators which should be used to compare the results obtained before using the solutions and after using them are the following:
— To evaluate clinical outcome, the HbA1C, FEV and MLHQ will be measured for Diabetes, COPD and Heart Failure, respectively.
— To evaluate the resource consumption, the number of events, number of exacerbations, number of hospitalisations, number of re-hospitalisations, days of stay and number of emergency visits will be used. All these data should be related to the three diseases chosen.
To compare these metrics and/or indicators, historical control will be used. The comparator group will be those patients who are selected to test the solutions. These patients will have been treated and monitored for at least 1 year prior to the testing of the solutions and their data will be available through EMR or other databases (retrospective collection of data regarding demographics, clinical and economic outcomes).
In order to achieve these improvements, the EMPATTICS solutions shall be designed for the personal use of the patients/carers suffering from chronic diseases, with the following functional requirements:
2. The solutions shall support patients and/or carers in following and understanding their care plan.
3. The solutions shall support patients and/or carers to improve their understanding of the illness or illnesses in order to enable better self-management thereof. To do so, they shall at least provide access to suitable information sources adapted to each patient's profile.
4. The solutions shall monitor relevant parameters related with patients' care plan, including vital signs, medication intake in any pharmaceutical form and behavioural data (i.e. physical activity, diet, etc.), and shall be able to do so automatically, with no intervention from the patient.

Eligibility requirements: — If the bidder is a natural person, a certified copy of the national official identity card or of the passport shall be provided; if the bidder is a legal person, legal capacity shall be accredited by means of a certified copy of the deed or document of incorporation and/or amendment registered in the official Commercial Register when registration is compulsory in accordance with the applicable law. Otherwise, the capacity to act shall be accredited by means of a certified copy of the deed or document of incorporation and/or amendment, the founding act or the articles of association wherein the rules by which the bidder regulates its activity are stated, and registered, where applicable, in the corresponding official register. — In the event of indirect representation, the powers under which the signatory of the proposal acts shall be demonstrated. If the represented party is a natural person, an authenticated copy of the notarised power of attorney shall be provided; if the represented party is a legal person, representation shall be accredited by the submission of a certified copy of the deed or document of incorporation and/or amendment, the founding act, or the articles of association from which the representation is derived. If the representation cannot be accredited through any of the described means, an authenticated copy of the notarised power of attorney shall be provided. Should there be any doubt as to the legal capacity or representation, bidders may be requested to provide additional information and/or evidence. Bidders shall demonstrate that they have the necessary economic and financial solvency to perform R&D up to the original development of the first products or services and to commercially exploit the results of the PCP, including intangible results, in particular IPRs. The economic and financial solvency to assure the coverage of the costs related to the execution and implementation of the project must be accredited by means of at least one of the following forms of evidence: a) The annual accounts presented in the corresponding official Commercial Register referring to the last 3 available years. Bidders not obliged to present the accounts in an official Register may, as an alternative means of accreditation, provide duly legalised accounting books. Solvency shall be understood as accredited by those bidders whose annual net profits on the profit and loss account give an average of equal to or greater than 50 000 EUR. b) Statement issued by an accredited financial institution attesting the availability by the bidder of an amount equal or greater than 50 000 EUR or the existence of a credit granted for the same amount. c) Statement made by one of more investors providing a financial guarantee in an amount equal or greater than 50 000 EUR for the performance of the contract. In spite of the above, for recently established businesses which have not yet existed for three financial years for which accounts have been closed, the annual accounts for one year only – if available – and a simple declaration on turnover will be required but supplemented by at least one of the following declarations providing a financial guarantee for the performance of the contract: bank declaration or declaration from an insurance company. Section above. Bidders shall demonstrate that they have the necessary technical and professional solvency to perform the contract to an appropriate quality standard. More precisely, bidders shall accredit that they possess the necessary experience and human and technical resources to perform R&D up to the original development of the first products or services and to commercially exploit the results of the PCP, including intangible results, in particular IPRs. This technical and professional solvency must be accredited by means of the following evidence: A list of the main services or works similar to the present contract (see the last paragraph of this section) made by the bidder in the last 5  years, including amounts, dates and the recipients, public or private. In the description of the services or works carried out, bidders should detail the results obtained and the way in which they were commercially exploited. In the case of bidders whose activity period does not cover the last 5 years, the list of services or works will be those of the period corresponding to the bidder's activity. The required solvency shall be understood to be accredited by the satisfactory completion of at least one service or work on the indicated fields. In spite of the above, recently established businesses such as start-ups may also compete in this PCP procedure, even if they have not satisfactorily completed any service or work similar to the purpose of the present contract provided that the personnel assigned to the execution of the project do have the required experience. In such cases, in addition to the list of the services or works referred to in the previous paragraph performed during their period of activity, bidders shall submit a list of the services and works carried out by the staff allocated to the performance of the project in the previous 5 years and the profiles and curricula of said personnel, which shall contain a detailed description of their academic background and their previous professional experience. In this case, the required solvency shall be understood to be accredited by the satisfactory completion by the personnel allocated to the project of at least one service or work in the aforementioned areas or by the execution of a research project in an academic field similar to the purpose of the present contract. Note: EMPATTICS considers a service or work similar to the present contract the previous realisation of R&D services or R&D projects in the following fields: — R&D services or R&D projects that pursue to develop ICT technologies that support Patient Empowerment initiatives or increase their adherence to treatments. — R&D services or R&D projects in mobile-health and e-health. — R&D services or R&D projects performed in other sectors or markets that pursue to develop technologies based on big data, virtual reality, wearables, serious games, artificial intelligence, smart sensors or Machine Learning. Section above.
Bidders shall demonstrate that they have the necessary economic and financial solvency to perform R&D up to the original development of the first products or services and to commercially exploit the results of the PCP, including intangible results, in particular IPRs. The economic and financial solvency to assure the coverage of the costs related to the execution and implementation of the project must be accredited by means of at least one of the following forms of evidence: a) The annual accounts presented in the corresponding official Commercial Register referring to the last 3 available years. Bidders not obliged to present the accounts in an official Register may, as an alternative means of accreditation, provide duly legalised accounting books. Solvency shall be understood as accredited by those bidders whose annual net profits on the profit and loss account give an average of equal to or greater than 50 000 EUR. b) Statement issued by an accredited financial institution attesting the availability by the bidder of an amount equal or greater than 50 000 EUR or the existence of a credit granted for the same amount. c) Statement made by one of more investors providing a financial guarantee in an amount equal or greater than 50 000 EUR for the performance of the contract. In spite of the above, for recently established businesses which have not yet existed for three financial years for which accounts have been closed, the annual accounts for one year only – if available – and a simple declaration on turnover will be required but supplemented by at least one of the following declarations providing a financial guarantee for the performance of the contract: bank declaration or declaration from an insurance company. Section above.
Bidders shall demonstrate that they have the necessary economic and financial solvency to perform R&D up to the original development of the first products or services and to commercially exploit the results of the PCP, including intangible results, in particular IPRs. The economic and financial solvency to assure the coverage of the costs related to the execution and implementation of the project must be accredited by means of at least one of the following forms of evidence: a) The annual accounts presented in the corresponding official Commercial Register referring to the last 3 available years. Bidders not obliged to present the accounts in an official Register may, as an alternative means of accreditation, provide duly legalised accounting books. Solvency shall be understood as accredited by those bidders whose annual net profits on the profit and loss account give an average of equal to or greater than 50 000 EUR. b) Statement issued by an accredited financial institution attesting the availability by the bidder of an amount equal or greater than 50 000 EUR or the existence of a credit granted for the same amount. c) Statement made by one of more investors providing a financial guarantee in an amount equal or greater than 50 000 EUR for the performance of the contract. In spite of the above, for recently established businesses which have not yet existed for three financial years for which accounts have been closed, the annual accounts for one year only – if available – and a simple declaration on turnover will be required but supplemented by at least one of the following declarations providing a financial guarantee for the performance of the contract: bank declaration or declaration from an insurance company.
Section above.
Bidders shall demonstrate that they have the necessary technical and professional solvency to perform the contract to an appropriate quality standard. More precisely, bidders shall accredit that they possess the necessary experience and human and technical resources to perform R&D up to the original development of the first products or services and to commercially exploit the results of the PCP, including intangible results, in particular IPRs. This technical and professional solvency must be accredited by means of the following evidence: A list of the main services or works similar to the present contract (see the last paragraph of this section) made by the bidder in the last 5  years, including amounts, dates and the recipients, public or private. In the description of the services or works carried out, bidders should detail the results obtained and the way in which they were commercially exploited. In the case of bidders whose activity period does not cover the last 5 years, the list of services or works will be those of the period corresponding to the bidder's activity. The required solvency shall be understood to be accredited by the satisfactory completion of at least one service or work on the indicated fields. In spite of the above, recently established businesses such as start-ups may also compete in this PCP procedure, even if they have not satisfactorily completed any service or work similar to the purpose of the present contract provided that the personnel assigned to the execution of the project do have the required experience. In such cases, in addition to the list of the services or works referred to in the previous paragraph performed during their period of activity, bidders shall submit a list of the services and works carried out by the staff allocated to the performance of the project in the previous 5 years and the profiles and curricula of said personnel, which shall contain a detailed description of their academic background and their previous professional experience. In this case, the required solvency shall be understood to be accredited by the satisfactory completion by the personnel allocated to the project of at least one service or work in the aforementioned areas or by the execution of a research project in an academic field similar to the purpose of the present contract. Note: EMPATTICS considers a service or work similar to the present contract the previous realisation of R&D services or R&D projects in the following fields: — R&D services or R&D projects that pursue to develop ICT technologies that support Patient Empowerment initiatives or increase their adherence to treatments. — R&D services or R&D projects in mobile-health and e-health. — R&D services or R&D projects performed in other sectors or markets that pursue to develop technologies based on big data, virtual reality, wearables, serious games, artificial intelligence, smart sensors or Machine Learning. Section above.
Bidders shall demonstrate that they have the necessary technical and professional solvency to perform the contract to an appropriate quality standard. More precisely, bidders shall accredit that they possess the necessary experience and human and technical resources to perform R&D up to the original development of the first products or services and to commercially exploit the results of the PCP, including intangible results, in particular IPRs. This technical and professional solvency must be accredited by means of the following evidence: A list of the main services or works similar to the present contract (see the last paragraph of this section) made by the bidder in the last 5  years, including amounts, dates and the recipients, public or private. In the description of the services or works carried out, bidders should detail the results obtained and the way in which they were commercially exploited. In the case of bidders whose activity period does not cover the last 5 years, the list of services or works will be those of the period corresponding to the bidder's activity. The required solvency shall be understood to be accredited by the satisfactory completion of at least one service or work on the indicated fields. In spite of the above, recently established businesses such as start-ups may also compete in this PCP procedure, even if they have not satisfactorily completed any service or work similar to the purpose of the present contract provided that the personnel assigned to the execution of the project do have the required experience. In such cases, in addition to the list of the services or works referred to in the previous paragraph performed during their period of activity, bidders shall submit a list of the services and works carried out by the staff allocated to the performance of the project in the previous 5 years and the profiles and curricula of said personnel, which shall contain a detailed description of their academic background and their previous professional experience. In this case, the required solvency shall be understood to be accredited by the satisfactory completion by the personnel allocated to the project of at least one service or work in the aforementioned areas or by the execution of a research project in an academic field similar to the purpose of the present contract. Note: EMPATTICS considers a service or work similar to the present contract the previous realisation of R&D services or R&D projects in the following fields: — R&D services or R&D projects that pursue to develop ICT technologies that support Patient Empowerment initiatives or increase their adherence to treatments. — R&D services or R&D projects in mobile-health and e-health. — R&D services or R&D projects performed in other sectors or markets that pursue to develop technologies based on big data, virtual reality, wearables, serious games, artificial intelligence, smart sensors or Machine Learning.