SeamlessMD Addresses Aging Patient Population with New Care Plans for Geriatrics, Ophthalmology and Orthopaedics

Frailty, Cataract Procedure and Ankle Replacement Surgery Now Available

Toronto, ON – May 30, 2022 – SeamlessMD, a leading Digital Care Journey platform for hospitals and health systems, today announced the addition of new care plans to its digital content library including Frailty, Cataract Surgery and Ankle Replacement address the aging patient population. The evidence-based pre-built care plan templates were developed in-house using the company’s proprietary, clinically focused methodology and supports best practices for health literacy, health behaviour change, adult education, and online accessibility. 

Providers can use the pre-built care plans, or they can easily customize them to match their own care protocols. Patients and caregivers can access their personalized digital care journey on their own smartphones, tablets or computers and are self-guided via reminders, education, health checks, and progress tracking while providers receive alerts, and remotely monitor patients enabling them to intervene sooner.

“These new digital care plans are a natural extension of our existing library covering cardiovascular, bariatric, cardiology, chronic care, colorectal, gastroenterology, women’s health, surgical oncology, mental health and additions, and more to further support our customers as they deploy patient-driven care management solutions across all episodes of care,” explained Meherazade Sumariwalla, Vice President, Customer Success, SeamlessMD. 

Frailty is a geriatric syndrome involving a state of increased vulnerability across multiple health domains that leads to adverse health outcomes. Frail older adults are at higher risk of falls, fractures, hospitalizations, premature morbidity, and death. 1 in 3 Canadians over the age of 65 will experience a fall, with falls estimated to cost over $2 billion per year. Placing higher demand of health care services such as hospital visits and long-term care facilities. In a study of 594 older adults, Johns Hopkins researchers found that frailty doubles the risk of surgical complications, lengthens hospital stays, and increases the odds of leaving independence behind (and moving to a nursing home or assisted-living facility) after a surgical procedure by as much as twentyfold. The new Frailty care plan includes education, reminders, and health checks focused on medicines and vaccines, diet, mobility, fall safety, and habits to maintain a healthy lifestyle. 

“Michael Garron Hospital has been providing remote care for frail elders in the East Toronto community for more than a decade through what was previously known as the Virtual Ward. We are very pleased to partner with SeamlessMD to continue this important work. Our goal is to keep seniors healthy at home for as long as possible and to help them avoid unnecessary visits to the emergency department through early identification of issues, early engagement with primary care and ongoing health teaching to help seniors safely and effectively manage their health conditions,” explained Jessica Scott, Manager of Access and Flow and Virtual Care at Michael Garron Hospital. “With SeamlessMD, we can easily track issues related to areas like activity, nutrition and medication compliance, and tailor our interventions accordingly. Our patients love the program. It helps them feel connected and comfortable knowing that a nurse is checking in regularly.”  

Like the Frailty care plan, the Ankle Replacement and Cataract Surgery care plans both include symptom monitoring, evidence-based education, reminders, and to-do lists, and are customized to match each care pathway. Individuals with end-stage osteoarthritis of the ankle experience diminished mental health and physical quality of life. With the Ankle Replacement care plan healthcare providers can discharge patients soon knowing that patients have access to a virtual care companion that will guide them step by step throughout their surgical journey with recommendations and aids for smoking cessation, blood sugar management, exercise, pain management, and more. 

Cataract surgery is one of the most common surgical procedures performed. Every year about three million people in the United States have surgery to remove cataracts. In Canada the Ontario target wait time from decision for surgery is approximately six months. Given the wait times can vary and are lengthy, giving patients access to a Digital Care Plan that can provide them with pre-op self care tips like home safety for fall and injury prevention while they wait for their surgery, and instructions on how to prepare for surgery to avoid unnecessary cancellations. With the daily health checks, patients can feel confident pre and post surgery with helpful tips and guidance.

“We’re excited to be entering Geriatrics and Ophthalmology for the first time. The addition of these care plans enables our customers to improve the patient experience for vulnerable patient populations. With the 65-and-older population growing rapidly over the past decade, there is more demand for same-day orthopedic surgery, frailty, and cataract procedure support,” said Dr. Joshua Liu, CEO and Co-founder, SeamlessMD. “With hospitals under immense pressure to achieve operational efficiencies while improving quality of care, Digital Care Journeys enable providers to stay engaged, connected, and monitor patients before and after hospitalization to ensure that every patient is receiving the right care at the right time.”

About SeamlessMD

SeamlessMD provides the leading Digital Care Journey platform for hospitals and health systems to engage, monitor, and stay connected with patients across healthcare journeys. 35+ clinical studies & evaluations have shown SeamlessMD to improve the patient experience while reducing hospital length of stay, readmissions, and ED visits. Health systems such as Atrium Health, Baystate, MultiCare, University Hospitals, Horizon Health Network, Montreal Heart Institute, North York General, Trillium Health Partners, William Osler Health System, Sunnybrook, and others use SeamlessMD to elevate the patient experience, improve outcomes and lower costs. Patients access digital care plans on their smartphones, tablets, or computers and are guided via reminders, education, and progress tracking. Providers receive alerts, monitor patients, and access analytics to deliver better care. SeamlessMD is directly integrated with leading EHRs such as Epic, Oracle Cerner, and MEDITECH. In 2022, SeamlessMD was named Top 5 Condition-Specific Remote Patient Monitoring Companies and Top Patient Education Companies by AVIA, CAN Health Network Company of the Year and earned a KLAS Research Spotlight Report. To learn more, visit seamless.md.