Simplified process and happier patients – Pathways from the healthcare professional’s perspective

Platform24’s Pathways solution automates and connects the activities around a planned healthcare event, such as an operation. For healthcare professionals, this means less manual work and an improved oversight. It also facilitates care by giving patients a better overview and involvement in their care journey. With a clear timeline and information about the different steps and stages of the care plan, the patient feels more reassured and is more likely to have made the necessary preparations, such as fasting or stopping smoking before surgery.

First contact with the patient

Johan sought care because of recurrent and intense pain under his ribs. Gallstones were suspected, and Johan was referred to a surgeon. He received an appointment and completed a digital health declaration, which was immediately available to the medical staff.

Once a patient has been entered into the care plan, healthcare professionals have direct access to all relevant information. This includes the health declaration and medical notes, allowing the doctor to make a holistic assessment of the patient’s care pathway.
“With Pathways, we can automate and reduce administration while keeping patients well prepared.” Elsa says. “In some cases, you may need to add an extra anesthesiologist assessment or ECG examination.”

Support and information before and after surgery

Once added to a care plan, the patient has access to detailed information about what to expect. The patient can read about the surgery and see how to prepare, and healthcare professionals don’t have to manually send out information, questionnaires or book appointments before the surgery date. In addition, patients can easily communicate with their healthcare provider via chat or video conferencing.

“Patients receive reminders about important preparations and information about each step of the process. Because the information is presented step by step, they are not overwhelmed. Instead, it’s easier for them to absorb the information, they do their activities on time and we can get confirmation that everything is done” says Elsa.

One of the main benefits of Pathways is that healthcare professionals are automatically notified if patients have not done their preparations or if the patient has answered forms in a way that makes it inappropriate for them to undergo surgery, such as having an ongoing infection or not fasting. This reduces the risk of canceling surgeries at short notice, which can save significant resources. 

Without Pathways, keeping in touch with patients, reminding them of information and rescheduling appointments before or after surgery is a time-consuming process for healthcare professionals who need to deal with paper forms, referrals and seeking patients over the phone. With the care plan, it is automated, where healthcare professionals can follow the patient’s activities and have the opportunity to reschedule in time if the patient is not ready for surgery. 

Elsa also says they were able to see that the patient had not started their smoking cessation as planned, and could then quickly take further action.

“We have better tools to support the patient through smoking cessation. We can follow up and see if the patient needs additional help to smoking cessation in time before surgery. This puts us in a better position to reduce complications and improve outcomes,” says Elsa.

Even after the surgery, the patient receives an automated flow of reminders and follow-ups. Healthcare professionals can adapt these to the patient’s specific needs and receive updates on their recovery. If needed, extra visits can be booked, both digital and physical.

In our example, a post-surgery follow-up form asks Johan how he is feeling. In one of them, Johan answers in a way that shows that the recovery is not going as planned, this is then automatically flagged to the healthcare staff who can follow up.

The forms and the possibility of asynchronous chat ensure that any complications can be quickly identified and addressed, allowing the patient to feel both independent and cared for.

Pathways contributes to more confident patients and less administration

Elsa says that above all, Pathways reduces administrative work and significantly relieves the burden on nurses and other colleagues by automating resource-intensive manual processes.

“The main benefit of Pathways is that we automate a manual process, get a more informed patient and enable high quality medical outcomes. For me as a doctor, this means happier patients with better outcomes. At the same time, we as healthcare professionals can optimize our time and focus on the patients who need it,” says Elsa.

Fact-checked by David Jaraj, surgeon

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