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)

Digitale triage en innovatieve technologie verbeteren de efficiëntie en toegankelijkheid van de zorg. In Zweden past Platform24 dit met succes toe, en nu kan ook Nederland hiervan profiteren. Met slimme tools zoals digitale triage en online consulten krijgen patiënten sneller duidelijkheid, terwijl zorgverleners meer ruimte hebben voor complexe zorg.

Lees hieronder het volledige artikel (begint op pagina 8).

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)

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

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.

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.