SAMBLIK & INDBLIK:

What if patient data followed the individual across all parts of the healthcare system - ensuring no one falls between the gaps? That’s exactly what SAMBLIK and INDBLIK aim to achieve.

If we want to succeed in creating better patient pathways that span multiple sectors, we need solutions developed in close collaboration between healthcare professionals and people with strong innovation and IT development skills.

These are the competencies that have been applied in developing SAMBLIK and INDBLIK. Two healthcare solutions that each, in their own way, use data to provide professionals with the right information and ensure patients receive the right treatment. They are also part of a paradigm shift in the healthcare system: We must make sure to use resources in the best possible way - and avoid bringing in healthy and well-treated individuals for unnecessary check-ups.

SAMBLIK: The patient at the center
Many patients often have contact with several different parts of the healthcare system: their general practitioner, specialists, the hospital, and for some, also home care and, for example, podiatrists. This means that patients themselves are responsible for keeping track of information about their contacts with the healthcare system, medication, and lab results.

However, it can be difficult to carry all that information from one sector to another and from one’s general practitioner to hospital staff and vice versa. In reality, both knowledge and patients can sometimes get lost between sectors.

That benefits no one. Not the patients themselves, their relatives, the healthcare staff, nor society as a whole.

That is why Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus has developed SAMBLIK, which gathers data from several different sources, including the Nationale Service Platform, providing access to data from general practice, hospitals, municipalities, and podiatrists. SAMBLIK consists of an overall overview, as well as disease-specific views, for example for diabetes, COPD, and cardiac conditions.

The right information at the right time
By combining data from several relevant sources, the right professionals receive the right information about a patient at the right time. And the general practitioner can see the same information as the nurse and doctor at the local hospital.

This ties together the patient’s journey, even when they cross sectors. It ensures cohesive, high-quality treatment and improves the decision-making process for clinicians.

“We have put a lot of effort into selecting the data that healthcare professionals see in SAMBLIK. They should see exactly what they need - and only that. Therefore, we have collaborated across disciplines and professional societies to ensure we have enough information to cover every aspect of the patient and make the best decisions for further treatment,” says Pia Pinholt Munksgaard, Head of the digitization team at Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus.

INDBLIK: Remote monitoring of patients at home
While SAMBLIK is a tool that provides an overview of the individual patient, INDBLIK is a tool that gives healthcare professionals insight into how the patient is doing between consultations, by monitoring various types of health data. For example, data from sensors measuring blood sugar, diagnoses, blood test results, and in the future, wearables and the patient’s own measurements.

In other words, it is no longer necessary to show up to the hospital in person unless there is a real need.

“INDBLIK gives both patients greater freedom and clinicians a better tool to assess when intervention is necessary. That might mean a patient who previously had to visit the hospital four times a year might now only need one annual visit, because INDBLIK monitors their health from home. It’s a win-win,” says Troels Krarup Hansen, Director of Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus.

Take for example a diabetes patient who uses a blood sugar monitor. The data from the monitor can automatically be sent to INDBLIK. If the readings deviate from the normal range, INDBLIK can trigger an alert and suggest an action—all without the patient having to leave home. This not only reduces the number of unnecessary visits but also creates a greater sense of security and flexibility for both patient and healthcare provider. But it requires a change in how we have previously approached treatment.

“Many doctors and nurses have been accustomed to seeing their patients physically through consultations. With intelligent data solutions like INDBLIK, it is possible to reduce the number of physical appointments. Of course, this gives more freedom to the individual patient who is well-managed, as well as to the staff, who can focus their time on those who genuinely need treatment. But it also requires a change in the mindset of both patients and clinicians, and trust that they’ll receive the necessary ‘warnings’ in their system if a patient’s measurements fall outside the normal range,” says Troels Krarup.

Although this represents a paradigm shift in how we approach treatment, we have every reason to trust our IT systems in Denmark. One reason for this is the strict requirements that guide their development.

A shared goal for healthcare professionals and tech specialists
It is a well-known truth that as a public healthcare system, we cannot solve our challenges (with more elderly and chronically ill patients and a shortage of healthcare personnel) on our own. We need to form collaborations and partnerships with skilled people in the private sector who have the expertise to challenge and develop solutions for our needs.

That applies to the IT company Trifork, which has spearheaded the technological development of SAMBLIK and INDBLIK. According to Troels Krarup, Director of Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, the partnership is a top-class example of how two worlds’ competencies can amplify each other:

“Developing solutions like SAMBLIK and INDBLIK requires the courage to think big. But also, that we combine healthcare expertise and clinical insight with strong innovation and development skills. Because we don’t just want to create something new and cool. We want to create something that is feasible and value-creating, and that ultimately helps ensure better treatment for patients and better working conditions for staff,” says Troels Krarup Hansen.

Karen Skjerbæk Jørgensen, CCO at Trifork Digital Health, adds:

“The development of SAMBLIK and INDBLIK is built on mutual trust in each other’s competencies and the courage to create something new. When healthcare professionals, technology specialists, and designers work as one unified team with the same goal, we ensure solutions that bring about real change. We have plenty of data available, and without focus, we risk drowning in it. Therefore, it’s the healthcare professionals who decide which data is relevant for patient treatment - using the national infrastructure and existing data sources where possible. The method behind it is just as important. Rapid iterations and tests on real data allow us to change course if needed and ensure that innovation leads to real and value-creating solutions.”

Already tested in patient treatment
Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus is currently developing SAMBLIK, which includes both a broad overall view of the individual patient as well as disease-specific views targeted at patients with diabetes, cardiac conditions, and COPD. SAMBLIK is scheduled to be tested in actual patient treatment in Q4 2025.

The diabetes view in SAMBLIK is already being tested in three regions: Region Midtjylland, Region Sjælland, and Region Hovedstaden in selected healthcare clusters that include hospitals, municipalities, and general practice. This trial runs from spring 2024 for two years and builds on experiences from a pilot test of SAMBLIK Diabetes in 2022.

Thirty-two healthcare professionals from different sectors participated in the pilot test, and the evaluation showed significant benefits for both patients and professionals. With the large-scale test of SAMBLIK across three regions, the aim is to document long-term effects, create clear recommendations for implementation, and explore opportunities to expand the concept to more disease areas.

The first version of INDBLIK is currently being tested at Aarhus Universitetshospital and Hospitalsenhed Midt with a selected group of patients, and in the course of 2025, INDBLIK will be rolled out to more hospitals and thus more patients.

With innovative solutions like SAMBLIK and INDBLIK, we are taking the first steps toward a healthcare system that is more efficient, cohesive, and future-proof.

Read more about the benefits of SAMBLIK.
Read more about the benefits of INDBLIK.