Sinai Health, Trillium create hospital-to-home tool

TORONTO – Physicians and researchers at Sinai Health are collaborating with Trillium Health Partners on a digital tool that will help older adults make a smoother transition from hospital to home. The Digital Bridge to Home project will enable improved flow of information between members of the clinical team and with patients.

“We know that older adults with complex health needs are more likely to experience frequent admissions to the hospital as the transition back home is challenging,” said Dr. Carolyn Steele Gray (pictured), a scientist at the Bridgepoint Collaboratory for Research and Innovation, part of Sinai Health’s Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute.

The Digital Bridge is designed to help patients, family caregivers and care teams stay connected about medications, care instructions, follow-up appointments and home care arrangements, all important parts of care transition. The tool will also empower patients with complex health needs to take an active role in managing their health.

“Ultimately, this could lead to better outcomes and a better quality of life for patients with chronic conditions,” Dr. Steele Gray said.

The team is using two existing digital tools as the base for this work. Trillium Health Partners’ Care Connector application enhances communication between healthcare professionals in the hospital. On the community side, Dr. Steele Gray has designed an app called electronic Patient Reported Outcomes (ePRO) that enables the patient, family caregivers and primary care providers to communicate about health goals and track progress.

The team will integrate these two apps to create their new tool. They will co-design the integration with patients, family caregivers and healthcare professionals to ensure that the app addresses everyone’s needs.

Getting support for a new digital tool can be a challenge, but COVID-19 is making people more open to using technology in healthcare. “We started this project before the COVID-19 pandemic and it was paused for several months,” said Dr. Steele Gray. “Now we are recruiting our advisory committee members and the energy and desire we’re seeing is much greater than before. People see the potential in virtual care and are now interested in other ways technology can support care.”

Tthe new app will be tested with patients and family caregivers at both Trillium Health Partners and Bridgepoint Active Healthcare. They hope to one day implement it on a broad scale. Read more about the project here https://www.digitalbridgetohome.com/about-digital-bridge.