New technology is allowing patients to transition home sooner after surgery.
Timmins and District Hospital has started using SeamlessMD, a digital patient engagement platform. Locally, it's being rolled out with orthopedic surgery patients first.
The technology was launched through Ontario Health's Surgical Transitions initiative to "rapidly implement pre- and post-op monitoring technology for safer surgical transitions from hospital to home during the COVID-19 pandemic," according to the announcement.
“The implementation of SeamlessMD enables our team to effectively engage and monitor our patients remotely,” explains Natalie Carle, Timmins and District Hospital clinical services director.
“COVID-19 has brought on unprecedented challenges to the health care sector so our patients having access to a safe, secure tool from their home is incredibly beneficial.”
SeamlessMD allows patients to be discharged sooner and minimizes in-person services. Patients are guided before and after surgery with personalized education for preparation and recovery, according to the hospital.
After being discharged, patients can report their symptoms, pain scores and photos of their wound using their device, and receive custom recommendations.
“The early feedback from patients using SeamlessMD has been positive. Knowing that our patients receive the right care before they come in for surgery and after they leave the hospital empowers us to minimize the amount of time they spend in the hospital,” said Sue Turcotte, TADH physical therapist.
The hospital hopes that the technology will help people feel less anxious before surgery and improve outcomes after surgery by reducing the number of visits to the emergency department and re-admissions.
"For the clinical team, SeamlessMD provides dashboards and analytics ranging from real-time patient symptom-tracking to population-level protocol compliance and patient-reported outcomes (PROs). SeamlessMD is the only Canadian company on the Ontario Telemedicine Network’s (OTN) Vendor of Record for Surgical Transition Solutions," reads the news release.
