Sault Area Hospital Implements SeamlessMD for Pre and Post-Surgery Monitoring During COVID-19

Surgical programs can now virtually support patients at home before and after surgery

May 18, 2021 – Sault Ste Marie, ON – Sault Area Hospital (SAH) is now digitally supporting patients with SeamlessMD, a surgical remote monitoring platform that is keeping patients safe and connected while at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. SAH is one of the first hospitals in Northeastern Ontario to use SeamlessMD as part of Ontario Health’s latest Remote Patient Monitoring initiative to empower patients at home and minimize in-person surgery visits during the pandemic and beyond.

Using SeamlessMD, patients undergoing surgery at Sault Area Hospital can receive personalized education, progress-tracking, and post-op symptom monitoring with any device (e.g. smartphone, tablet, computer) while providing self-reported data such as pain score, symptoms, range-of-motion, and wound photos for the surgical care team to stay connected remotely, enabling quicker intervention if necessary.

Sault Area Hospital is already using the technology to accommodate Total Hip & Knee Replacement Surgery patients and plans to implement SeamlessMD over the coming months in many other surgical areas including programs within General Surgery and Women’s Health. The technology has been shown to reduce ED visits, hospital length of stay, and readmissions.

Dr. Graham Elder, Chief of Orthopaedics at Sault Area Hospital, commented, “SeamlessMD helps our patients stay connected to us and empowers our team to identify any risks sooner and provide better support remotely. It provides guidance for our patients both before and after the surgical procedure. The technology is intuitive for patients and insightful for our team, as it collects valuable patient-reported outcomes data for continuous quality improvement.”

Dr. James Chan, Director of Innovation at Sault Area Hospital concurs, “With the many unknowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for effective remote monitoring solutions is of utmost importance. SeamlessMD allows our hospital to engage patients outside the hospital when they need it most. It’s a remarkable technology that aligns well with our mission to provide outstanding care for every patient.”

“We are thrilled for Sault Area Hospital to join the network of hospitals across Ontario that are delivering safer surgical care remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic,” shares Dr. Joshua Liu, CEO at SeamlesssMD. “In an increasingly virtual world, we are grateful for the support provided by Ontario Health to protect our communities and empower surgical patients at home through remote care.”

About Sault Area Hospital

Sault Area Hospital (SAH) is a new building with over 1800 staff, 400 volunteers and 365 active physicians. Built in 2011, SAH offers primary, secondary and select tertiary services to 115,000 residents in Sault Ste. Marie and the District of Algoma.

The hospital provides core services in Emergency and Critical Care, Medicine, Surgery, Obstetrics, Maternity and Pediatrics, Mental Health and Addictions, Complex Continuing Care, and Rehabilitation.  SAH is also home to the Algoma Regional Renal Program and the Algoma District Cancer Program who works in partnership with Health Sciences North to provide radiation therapy locally. In addition, SAH began offering cardiac angioplasty in 2018 through a unique partnership with St. Michaels’ Hospital. The hospital also has a robust Diagnostic Imaging suite, which includes interventional radiology services and an accredited state-of-the-art laboratory.  

For more information, please visit: www.sah.on.ca

About SeamlessMD

SeamlessMD provides the #1 digital patientengagement platform used by hospitals and health systems to elevate the patientexperience, improve outcomes and lower costs. Patients access digital careplans on their smartphones, tablets or computers and are guided through theirhealth conditions or treatments via reminders, education and progress tracking.Providers receive alerts, monitor patients and access analytics to deliverbetter care. SeamlessMD is directly integrated with Epic and Cerner. Health systemssuch as Trillium Health Partners, William Osler Health System and Sunnybrookuse SeamlessMD to improve patient satisfaction while reducing hospital lengthof stay, readmissions, and costs.

For more information and to see SeamlessMD inaction, please visit: www.seamless.md

For more information:

Brandy Sharp Young
Manager Communications & Media Services
Email: sharpyoungb@sah.on.ca Tel: 705-759-3721

Alan Sardana
Marketing Lead
SeamlessMD
Email: alan@seamless.md Tel: 647-462-7877