NHS orthopaedic hospital trials patient support app

Veteran patients at a specialist NHS orthopaedic hospital can now benefit from an app that helps them feel more informed about their pre and post-op care and treatment.

The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Shropshire is the first NHS Trust to use the myrecovery app.

The app is designed with orthopaedic patients in mind, is being trialled with patients under the Veterans’ Orthopaedic Service, and could later be rolled out across the whole hospital.

The app includes videos from surgeons, physiotherapists and nurses who offer tips and advice from patients, as well as providing them with a way to track their progress on the road to recovery.

myrecovery will release several tools to try and improve patient outcomes and patient safety.

The myrecovery team said there are other potential benefits to the app, including reducing workload for hospital staff as it aims to keep patient phone calls and emails to a minimum.

Orthopaedic surgeons create and approve all the content on the app to help guide patients through their recovery.

Articles on the app can include health information from providers such as NHS Choices and the charity Arthritis Research UK.

According to the app’s website there is an interactive physiotherapy service, which allows patients to connect with their physio.

Physios can create create videos and film patients doing exercises so that they are able to do them at home after surgery.

The app was showcased at the Frontiers Health conference in Berlin, where founder and orthopaedic surgeon Tom Harte explained that the technology inside the phone is based on that used in the gaming industry.

It’s designed as an alternative to the expensive gait monitoring equipment used in hospitals.

He used an algorithm to improve the accuracy of the motion tracking technology used in computer game development, so that clinicians can see if patients are able to use their legs properly.