One key to reducing post-operative emergency room visits, reducing cancellations for procedures and improving overall post-operative outcomes is sitting in your patients' pockets, according to new research.
A study to be presented Oct. 28 at CHEST 2015, the 81st annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians, has found sending patients mobile electronic reminders and providing web-based modules to improve compliance with pre-operative instructions does improve the aforementioned outcomes.
"We believe this tool has great potential to improve communication with patients, increase patient satisfaction, decrease ER visits and improve patient outcomes following thoracic surgery," Carmine Simone, MD, a physician at Toronto East General Hospital and lead researcher, said in a statement.
Of the 167 patients who participated in the research, 98 percent reported being satisfied with the mobile product they were provided. They said the mobile app empowered them to keep track of their progress and offered more accessibility for their surgeons.