The Swedish newspaper Digital hälsa writes about Platform24’s Vinnova-funded project together with Sahlgrenska, Region Skåne and RISE. The article consists of an interview with Helen Sjöland, Professor of Cardiology at Sahlgrenska University, and Johannes Kriisa, physician and Platform24’s product director for clinical products.

“When Sahlgrenska University Hospital uses AI in the treatment of heart failure, the health technology company Platform24 has been commissioned to develop self-monitoring. It will be easier to follow the health situation remotely.”

“Home care can also reduce the risk of falls, infections and confusion, especially in older people. The desire to be cared for at home is also stronger if the care where the patient is hospitalized cannot offer any curative or rescue measures”, says Helen Sjöland

“This collaboration allows us to do more advanced processing of the data we collect. Self-monitoring provides greater peace of mind for the patient and a better basis for decision-making for healthcare professionals”, says Johannes Kriisa.

Link to Digital Hälsa (in Swedish) (requires paid subscription)

Original article published December 20, 2024, in the Future of Health special edition insert with Financieel Dagblad.

Digital symptom analysis and Smart digital care gets patients to the right place faster

Digital symptom analysis and innovative technology are rapidly emerging to further improve the efficiency and accessibility of care.

Thanks to smart solutions, patients get clarity on their symptoms quickly and caregivers are relieved, creating more time for physical care where it is really needed.

Sweden is somewhat of a forerunner. The country has vast sparsely populated areas. Digital triage proved to be an ideal solution for giving people access to care there as well. The effect has been so positive that now the Netherlands is also getting a chance to get acquainted with the system. What it basically boils down to is that Platform24 digitizes care access. “What we are basically doing is organizing healthcare processes more efficiently. We do that using digital triage and user-friendly tools for online consultations, such as chat and video,” says Marijn Meuwese, Platform24’s Dutch director. This process appears to lead to excellent results. Registrations show that 70 percent of healthcare questions can be asked without direct physical contact with a healthcare provider.

“This ensures that patients receive the right care faster, without unnecessary waiting times. At the same time, valuable time is saved at primary care physicians and medical centers, who can focus on urgent and complex care.”

Constant quality

A comprehensive configuration with smart protocols lies at the heart of this solution. A digital tool adheres to applicable guidelines, ensuring constant quality. “The system not only makes care more efficient, but also more humane. Patients feel heard and guided, while caregivers are given more space to do what they do best: provide good care.” Using this technology makes it a lot easier to collaborate efficiently in care networks. Digital consultations start in chat, and can be switched to a video or phone call with one click.

“In addition to digital triage and digital consultations, we also support home monitoring and digital care pathways. Platform24 basically provides a digital front door through which patients can access all available care. We continue to innovate that process.”technology are rapidly emerging to further improve the efficiency and accessibility of healthcare. Thanks to smart solutions, patients quickly gain clarity about their complaints and healthcare providers are relieved, creating more time for physical care where it is really needed.”

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.

Nedan är en debattartikel som Janniche Kristofferssen, UX-chef, och Stina Perdahl, medicinsk chef, skrev som svar på Afasiförbundets debattartikel kring digitala tjänster i vården (in Swedish). The response was published in many newspapers, including Barometern, Dagens Kalmar, Dala-Demokraten, Norran, and Nynäshamns Posten (all in Swedish)

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We have great respect for the Aphasia Association’s concern that patients experience difficulties with the digital care solutions and we share the view that the contact routes to the care must be adapted to the patient’s ability and needs.

Digital entry points should not replace, but complement, telephone and other contact channels.

Digitalization is not only about efficiency, but also about making healthcare contacts more accessible and equal. Many people, both young and old, prefer to interact with healthcare digitally rather than by phone. Older people and people with disabilities often appreciate the opportunity to communicate in writing and at their own pace.

Reading through questions and answers carefully, being able to pause and resume the process, and the ability to go back and see what was agreed, are examples of how digital care can provide peace of mind and a better overview of care contacts. Many patients, with physical, mental or cognitive disabilities, have described that they can now, for the first time, have an independent dialog with their healthcare provider on equal terms.

The digital gateways do not aim to reduce accessibility over the phone but, on the contrary, to free up resources and time for healthcare professionals, who can then have more time to meet patients both in person and over the phone.

Accessibility work is an ongoing process that we give high priority to. We follow the guidelines of the Act on the Accessibility of Digital Public Services and continuously evaluate the product with users with different disabilities. We always welcome dialogue with patient organizations, and preferably also with the Aphasia Association, to further improve digital healthcare and make it more accessible to all.

Janniche Kristoffersen, Head of UX Platform24

Stina Perdahl, Chief Medical Officer Platform24

Platform24 er fremhævet som en case i den seneste rapport fra Boston Consulting Group (BCG) for Sundhedsstrukturkommissionen. Bilagsrapporten Anlyser og ekspertbidrag viser fordelene ved digital triage, herunder et mere effektivt patientflow, forbedret adgang til sundhedsydelser og optimeret ressourceallokering. Platform24’s løsninger anerkendes for deres indvirkning på forbedring af sundhedsydelser og forbedring af patientoplevelsen.

Link til rapporten, casen starter på side 286

In this article, we introduce four new doctor archetypes that are emerging from the convergence of healthcare and tech and of human and machine. We consider these archetypes the new gang laying the digital railroad of tomorrow’s healthcare system. This future system is truly patient-centric, based on a digital-first approach, highly automated, and one where digital and physical care is seamlessly integrated in order to deliver amazing patient journeys.

How healthcare’s digital revolution will change the doctor’s role. Spoiler alert: The future looks pretty bright

Overview of the four archetypes

• The Builder – creates the core building blocks of the digital railway made up of new solutions, products, and algorithms.
• The Innovator – assembles those building blocks in meaningful ways to create tomorrow’s patient journeys and clinical workflows.
• The Healer – leverages those new digital solutions and smart workflows in order to support people’s health and deliver seamless healthcare to patients in new virtual settings, as well as ensure a learning hybrid healthcare system.
• The Leader – acts as an ambassador bridging the vastly different cultures, from agile product development all the way to clinical medicine, making sure the railroad of tomorrow’s healthcare system is safely built and that the trains run as expected.

From ÖP 2020-03-24:

“The spread of the coronavirus has accelerated the opportunities for county residents to receive digital help from health centers.

Primary care manager Anna Granevärn sees this as a necessary measure in an extreme situation.

– It is incredibly important that people dare to seek care when they need it and in recent weeks we have seen that more and more people cancel booked visits for fear of becoming ill, she says.

A few weeks ago, ÖP reported on pilot projects in the county that would increase citizens’ access to care with the help of digital tools. These would be tested in different places and in slightly different ways depending on what the situation looked like in, for example, Sveg, Strömsund or Frösön and central Östersund. Then came the outbreak of the new coronavirus, which is now classified as a pandemic. A global plague.

On Monday, the doors of the health centers began to be locked. As of today, 19 March, everyone who lives in Jämtland County can contact a district nurse via 1177 with the help of their bank ID.

– It has gone incredibly fast. A week ago, I was commissioned to create a fast track for a digital channel available to all citizens, says Anna Granevärn. ”

Read the full article