The Nordic Digital Health Evaluation Criteria (NordDEC) is a fast-track for evaluation and accreditation for digital health products in the Nordics. With the assessment, products meet the digital health evaluation requirements of all Nordic countries and get access to potential users in all Nordic markets. To push forward the use of the platform, the Nordic Health App Award was introduced in 2023. Finalists of the competition are offered a free assessment through the NordDEC accreditation.
Quality, safety and the Nordic brand
A total of 15 companies applied for the Nordic Health App Award 2024. Two companies reached the final round and went through the NordDEC accreditation.
Finalist Kara Connect from Iceland offers a customized mental and wellbeing platform for employees. High quality, safety and the power of the Nordic brand have been important aspects of participating in the NordDEC accreditation:
“One of our pillars is that we are Nordic. We want to brand ourselves as a Nordic solution. But also, we’ve always prioritized information security and user privacy in everything we do and it’s a point of pride for us to have that acknowledged in this way."
"We have clients that came to us because they were using a product that was selling all the personal information of their clients, which is not compliant with GDPR. So, taking part in the Nordic Health App Award and going through the NordDEC accreditation has been important for us both from a branding perspective but also for security and safety reasons,” says Tobba Vigfusdottir, CEO at Kara Connect.
But also, we’ve always prioritized information security and user privacy in everything we do and it’s a point of pride for us to have that acknowledged in this way.
– Tobba Vigfusdottir, CEO at Kara Connect
Digital health solutions more important than ever
Kara Connect offers a customized solution - a Wellbeing Hub - where companies can give their employees access to practitioners specializing in over 60 different health and wellbeing services. Currently, Kara Connect collaborates with more than 3.000 health practitioners spread over several European markets. With more and more people living in isolation, working from home and with less contact with other people, the potential for digital health solutions such as Kara Connect has never been bigger:
“With this tool, we are reaching people that don’t have anyone to talk to. That’s where my heart beats. If we can get into the truck with the truck driver, if we can reach people that are working from home or hybrid, then we’re having the effect we want” says Tobba Vigfusdottir.
One important aspect of the platform is that the users are met with real people, real practitioners:
“We see an increase in loneliness and people that are living more isolated lives, so we want to offer connections with real people. No AI chatbots, mindfulness exercises or webinars. We want to make sure that the users of our platform meet real people.”
The platform is built as a customized space for the company and its employees. The company can add its own logo, design and language. The HR managers of the company will then build the space and add health services based on their employees’ needs. The company buys credits per employee, with one credit allowing the employee to book one health session.
According to Tobba Vigfusdottir, the modern way of living places higher demands on companies as protectors of people’s wellbeing and health:
“Nowadays, the workplace is the first stop to get help because our neighborhoods are not working in the same way as they used to. We don’t go to check on our neighbors as we used to, and no one is coming to check on us. We don’t see as many people as we used to. So, it is more important that the companies look after their employees. And this is what we want to help them with through our solution,” concludes Tobba Vigfusdottir.
Background
The Nordic Digital Health Evaluation Criteria (NordDEC) was launched in 2022 by the Nordic Interoperability Project with support from Nordic Innovation’s Life Science and Health Tech program. Besides being a Nordic evaluation and accreditation platform for digital health products, it also offers a distribution platform for approved solutions helping companies to promote their digital health solutions across all the Nordic countries.
Read more about the Life Science and Health Tech program
2024 finalists:
The winner of the Nordic Health App Award 2024 was announced in Iceland prior to the Arctic Circle Assembly.
Winner: Visiba Care from Sweden offers a solution where patients can submit symptoms quickly and confidentially to their doctor through either an app or web portal.
Finalist: Kara Connect from Iceland offers a customized mental and wellbeing platform for employees.
