General information
Code: EU HealthBridge
Period: 1.9.2026 - 31.8.2028
Project leader at FDV: doc.dr. Simona Hvalič Touzery
Abstract
In September 2026, the University of Ljubljana (UL) will begin implementing the international project HealthBridge_CE – Bridging digital health solutions across Central Europe as one of its partners. The project is funded under the Interreg Central Europe programme.
A digital health solution that has been accepted and validated in one Central European country often has to prove its value again before being introduced in another. This delays the uptake of promising solutions and makes them less accessible to patients. HealthBridge_CE will address this challenge by developing a shared transnational framework that will help hospitals, innovators and public organisations generate comparable evidence that different healthcare systems can trust.
The project builds on the results of four previous Interreg projects. Cross-border incubation activities will connect digital health innovators with public healthcare payers, contribute to aligning requirements between countries and help validated digital health solutions expand more easily across national borders.
The project is coordinated by the DEX Innovation Centre in Czechia and brings together seven partners from six countries: Austria, Czechia, Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. UL participates through the Faculty of Social Sciences (FSS) and its Centre for Social Informatics (CSI). The project lead at FSS is Assist. Prof. Simona Hvalič Touzery, PhD. The UL team will lead the first work package, focusing on policy learning and the development of a strategic framework, and will coordinate the project’s communication activities.
The project will run from September 2026 to August 2028. Its total budget is EUR 1.24 million, with 80% of the funding provided by the European Regional Development Fund.
The phases of the project and their realization
Work Package 1: Health Policy Learning and Strategic Framework Development
Work Package 2: Development of the Integrated Living-Lab Operation Protocol (ILLOP)
Work Package 3: Implementation of Cross-Border Pilot Activities
Work Package Communication: Communication, Stakeholder Engagement and Transfer of Project Results
Key words
cross-border validation, digital health technologies, financing and reimbursement of health technologies, health policy learning, health technology assessment (hta), living labs
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG3 | Good health and well-being
SDG9 | Industry, innovation and infrastructure
SDG10 | Reduce inequalities
SDG17 | Partnerships for the goals
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