SeamlessMD Enhance Mobile Initiative to Curb Opioid Addiction

Patients undergoing surgery at Atrium Health can now use new technology to dynamically measure opioid risk and receive education on safe and effective pain management

April 07, 2021 – Charlotte, NC – Atrium Health is enhancing patient care through its current partnership with SeamlessMD. An innovative mobile initiative called END Opioids (Educational iNteractive Dashboard for Opioids) ensures that patients are educated about safe and effective pain control after surgery while decreasing the risks of opioid misuse. Atrium Health launched the new initiative through a grant provided by the Hearst Foundations, with a goal of advancing solutions to the nation’s ongoing opioid crisis.

SeamlessMD, a leading digital patient engagement platform, was originally implemented at Atrium Health in 2018 to guide patients before and after surgery. With this digital platform, patients access SeamlessMD’s app on their smartphones, tablets or computers, and receive reminders and education to help them follow the care plan prescribed by their physicians. Upon discharge from the hospital, patients use their mobile devices to report pain scores, symptoms, and opioid consumption, enabling them to stay connected with their care team.

The END Opioid initiative, designed as an add-on, teaching module to the existing mobile app enables patients to complete opioid risk-scoring surveys and to track how their opioid consumption compares with patients undergoing a similar operation. When using this module, patients receive a risk assessment for opioid use, personalized education on pain, guidance for safe opioid use, storage, and disposal, as well as complimentary, non-opioid alternatives to opioids for pain control. The module also sends real-time risk data into Atrium Health’s first-of-its-kind PRIMUM alert system to help health care providers recognize patients who may be at risk for opioid use disorders or misuse. The new END Opioids module is an educational and interactive experience for patients that complements SeamlessMD’s mobile app that offers continuous virtual care for patients undergoing various operative procedures.

"We are extremely honored to receive a grant from the Hearst Foundation to use to further our patients' experiences," said Dionisios Vrochides, MD, Ph.D., Vice-chair of Quality and Outcomes for Atrium Health’s Department of Surgery and the lead researcher for the END Opioid initiative. "Opioid addiction is a complex problem and this technological enhancement will allow us to expand the capabilities to teach patients about safe opioid use for pain control after surgery."

Nationwide, patients undergoing surgery are at an increased risk of developing an opioid addiction as they are commonly prescribed opioid medications for the first time to treat acute pain. Without appropriate risk scoring and monitoring, this can lead to unintended patient addiction. Atrium Health physicians understand the importance of preventing opioid misuse and will use the module’s data to circumvent potential issues through personalized education and real-time health care provider alerts.

“The Hearst Foundation is honored to support Atrium Health’s efforts to advance solutions in post-surgical care through its END Opioids initiative," said George Irish, Eastern Director, The Hearst Foundations. “This work will contribute to the education of safe opioid use and enhance positive outcomes for patients."

“Atrium Health is an incredibly innovative organization when it comes to patient experience, data, and analytics. Our team is thrilled to partner with such a forward-thinking health system to combat complex problems like the opioid crisis,” says Joshua Liu, MD, CEO of SeamlessMD. “This END Opioids initiative demonstrates Atrium Health’s continued thought leadership in patient experience and clinical analytics.”

About Atrium Health

Atrium Health is a nationally recognized leader in shaping health outcomes through innovative research, education and compassionate patient care. Atrium Health is an integrated, nonprofit health system with more than 70,000 teammates serving patients at 42 hospitals and more than 1,500 care locations. It provides care under the Wake Forest Baptist Health name in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, region and Atrium Health Navicent in Georgia. Atrium Health is renowned for its top-ranked pediatric, cancer and heart care, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. A recognized leader in experiential medical education and groundbreaking research, Wake Forest School of Medicine is the academic core of the enterprise, including Wake Forest Innovations, which is advancing new medical technologies and biomedical discoveries. Atrium Health is also a leading-edge innovator in virtual care and mobile medicine, providing care close to home and in the home. Ranked among U.S. News & World Report’s Best Hospitals for cancer treatment and in eight pediatric specialties, Atrium Health has also received the American Hospital Association’s Quest for Quality Prize and was the recipient of the 2020 Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Health Equity Award for its efforts to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in care. With a commitment to every community it serves, Atrium Health seeks to improve health, elevate hope and advance healing – for all, providing more than $2 billion per year in free and uncompensated care and other community benefits.

About SeamlessMD

SeamlessMD provides the #1 digital patient engagement platform used by 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 Stanford Health Care, Rush University Medical Center and UAB Health System use SeamlessMD to improve patient satisfaction while reducing hospital length of stay, readmissions, and costs.

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

For more information:

Kaileigh Russell
Communications Specialist
Timmins and District Hospital
T: 705-267-2131 Ext. 2409
krussell@tadh.com

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