“A new mobile app lets patients monitor their recovery after surgery and get immediate help if needed”, according to Dr. Joshua Liu, a recent graduate of the University of Toronto Medical School, and Co-Founder and CEO of Seamless Mobile Health https://seamlessmhealth.com a Canadian company. The company recently launched the app at Baylor College of Medicine in Texas and is going to do a local rollout at Toronto East General Hospital.
Time is a big problem in hospitals which means that surgeons and nurses are incredibly busy and only have a few minutes to educate patients before they leave the hospital for home. Also, patients don’t always recall verbal instructions accurately or sometimes lose or not read written instructions.
Patients are able to monitor the app for early warning signs after surgery and automate instructions on what to do next in their recovery. The researchers have found that patients respond better to active engagement and small bits of information as long as it is delivered to them when actually needed.
Liu points out that this mobile health solution gives patients immediate feedback so they can self-manage smaller concerns or know which medical professional to contact for help if their symptoms worsen. Other mobile health solutions require hospitals to monitor the data for every patient and while this platform offers that option, the app also helps hospitals with fewer human resources to use smart algorithms to enable automated real-time feedback.
According to Liu, the technology was rolled out in the U.S because the drivers for adopting technology in the U.S. are stronger. Beginning October 2014, Obamacare will impose penalties on hospitals for certain surgical readmissions. However, in Canada, the healthcare funding models are moving towards value-base healthcare but the move is not as aggressive.