Clinical Solutions
SeamlessMD assists Osler’s surgical patients
August 11, 2021
BRAMPTON, Ont. – William Osler Health System has partnered with SeamlessMD, a Digital Patient Engagement platform, to help improve patient safety, quality and outcomes for surgery patients. This platform is a great addition for patients as Osler carefully and gradually resumes normal operations, including some priority non-urgent surgeries and procedures across its three hospital sites.
Osler worked with SeamlessMD to empower all patients undergoing elective and emergency surgery with a digital companion that assists them from surgical preparation through to their recovery at home.
With SeamlessMD, patients at Osler are guided before and after their surgical procedures with education, progress tracking and symptom monitoring using their own devices (e.g. smartphone, tablet, computer).
“SeamlessMD is helping us bring state-of-the-art technology and innovation to our surgery patients and deliver safer patient care even from a distance” says Jane deLacy (pictured), vice president of clinical services at William Osler Health System. “We are particularly proud to have made the platform available in multiple languages, which helps us to provide more accessible, convenient care for our diverse patient community.”
Customized dashboards also enable the Osler care team to monitor the health of patients throughout their journey. The platform supports multiple languages including English, Punjabi, Urdu, Hindi, Portuguese, Italian and French, prominent in Osler’s diverse communities.
More than 2,500 patients have already benefited from the digital experience, with 90 percent of patients recommending SeamlessMD to others to help manage their health at home following their in-hospital procedures. One patient said, “I felt less on my own after leaving the hospital.” Another patient noted that the digital experience was “quick and easy and felt like someone was checking in on me each day.”
The platform also helps to facilitate internal efficiencies, including improved communication and workflow across care teams, which helps to streamline Osler’s surgical operations. Healthcare staff are also able to digitally collect and view pre-operative patient data (e.g. pre-anaesthesia questionnaires and COVID-19 screening forms), thereby minimizing unnecessary visits to the hospital.
If patients consent to being enrolled on the platform, their email address is added into the system and they then receive an email with instructions on how to set up their password. Once that is complete, patients can start using SeamlessMD and receive real-time updates and reminders on their appointments and surgery dates.
SeamlessMD is developing a Machine Learning model for more accurate risk prediction (e.g. readmissions) models and Osler, a collaborator in the process, is one of the first partners with access to this advanced model to further optimize patient care.
This endeavor is federally-funded by Scale AI, Canada’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Supercluster, whose initiative is to identify cross-sector collaborative projects and provide funding and expert guidance to help Canada stay ahead of the AI curve.
“SeamlessMD has been one of Osler’s many excellent technology partners, helping us to deliver innovative patient care across all of our hospital sites,” said Dr. Rardi van Heest, vice president of medical affairs at William Osler Health System. “Patients love their technology-enabled experience, and our staff at the pre-anaesthesia clinics and surgeon’s offices have improved day-to-day operations with SeamlessMD’s streamlined perioperative dashboards.”
“We are excited to collaborate with Osler in this unique partnership, as the multi-site organization continues to demonstrate exemplary leadership in healthcare innovation,” Dr. Joshua Liu, CEO at SeamlessMD. “We remain dedicated to the delivery of safe and effective virtual care during COVID-19, and are grateful for the ongoing support provided by Scale AI.”
About William Osler Health System
William Osler Health System is a hospital system, which includes Brampton Civic Hospital, Peel Memorial Centre for Integrated Health and Wellness and Etobicoke General Hospital, and serves 1.3 million residents of Brampton, Etobicoke and surrounding communities within the Central West region. Osler’s emergency departments are among the busiest in Canada and its Mental Health Program is one of the largest in the province. William Osler Health System Foundation seeks to create a healthier community through giving by inspiring its communities to invest in exceptional health care close to home.
About SeamlessMD
SeamlessMD provides the #1 digital patient engagement platform used by hospitals and health systems to elevate the patient experience, improve outcomes and lower costs. Patients access digital care plans on their smartphones, tablets or computers and are guided through their health conditions or treatments via reminders, education and progress tracking. Providers receive alerts, monitor patients and access analytics to deliver better care. SeamlessMD is directly integrated with Epic and Cerner. Health systems such as Trillium Health Partners, Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre use SeamlessMD to improve patient satisfaction while reducing hospital length of stay, readmissions, and costs.