Swedish newspaper DN: How Platform24 wants to contribute to fewer canceled surgeries

Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter highlights Platform24 and what we believe is the next step after digital healthcare gateways for first line care. Read the full text below or through the link (in Swedish).

How Platform24 wants to contribute to fewer canceled surgeries

Theme – Healthcare

Digital care entrances for first line care are now available in most Swedish regions. What is the next step? Digital solutions for better care planning and chronic care, says Platform24.

Surgery queues in Sweden reached a historic peak in August 2024, when 89,435 people had waited longer than 90 days for a medical procedure or surgery*, while statistics show that around 28,000 surgeries are canceled at the last minute every year. According to registry data, about half of these cancellations are due to avoidable reasons, such as the patient not being properly prepared by fasting or stopping smoking.*

– Today, information sharing is a manual task. There are physical letters that are sent and phone calls that only maybe are made. Digitizing planned care processes and automating communication makes it easier for healthcare providers to act in advance on issues that may result in a cancelled operation,” says Tobias Perdahl, specialist in internal medicine and co-CEO of Platform24.

Ongoing reminders

Prior to surgery, patients may need to stop taking certain medications and take specific pain relievers. Through Platform24’s Pathways solution, this type of information and a timeline for the surgery is collected in the healthcare provider’s healthcare app. Instead of a stack of paper with instructions, the patient receives continuous reminders of what needs to be done.

– For example, if the patient doesn’t confirm that they have started fasting, the healthcare professional is notified and can act on it. If everything goes according to plan, nothing is flagged to the healthcare team. There is also a chat in the app, where the patient can ask questions before the operation, says Tobias Perdahl and continues:

– Today, there are dangerously many details that risk being forgotten or missed, no matter how motivated you are as a patient. If something goes wrong, the healthcare system solves it by rescheduling – and the wait for surgery becomes even longer.

Functionality already in place

In the 19 Swedish regions, and in the care providers all over Europe using Platform24’s platform, the care plan and timeline features are already technically available and easy to activate.

– I have great respect for the fact that introducing new workflows is not easy, but I also don’t see that there are many alternatives. With better information and patient engagement solutions, many thousands more surgeries could be performed annually, without increasing the workload of staff. We must strive for that, says Tobias Perdahl.

Sources:

* SKR, Waiting times in healthcare..

* SPOR, Swedish perioperative register.

* 1177.