Apps helping patients before, after surgery

Editor's Note

Chicacgo-area hospitals are using apps to help patients prepare for and recover from surgery and communicate their symptoms, the November 30 Chicago Tribune reports.

Amita Health is now using the TapCloud app with good results−of 309 orthopedic patients who have used the app, none have had to be readmitted.

Advocate Lutheran General Hospital is using the Twistle app with patients having colon-rectal surgeries, and readmissions have dropped from 14.5% to 5%.

The apps helps prepare patients for surgery by reminding them of tasks they need to complete before their procedures, such as scheduling appointments, avoiding food after a certain time, or clearing their homes of clutter to make getting around easier after surgery.

The apps help patients recover by reminding them to move a certain amount each day, describing how they should be feeling, and helping them communicate with their physicians and nurses.

Ten years ago, Tom Riley watched his mother struggle to communicate with her doctors as she battled ovarian cancer. He noticed that, like many patients, she often skimmed over potentially important details about how she was feeling, problems that could have been addressed had doctors known about them.