More information means fewer hospitalization days at Slagelse Hospital

At the Department of Surgery at Slagelse Hospital, healthcare professionals have succeeded in increasing patient knowledge and reducing the number of hospitalization days with the help of the patient guide from Emento.

When the diagnosis hits, it can be difficult to keep track of all the subsequent information, treatment steps and consultations. The staff at the Department of Surgery at Slagelse Hospital have often experienced this when treating patients with colorectal cancer.

Instead of overwhelming patients with information, the department uses patient guides to inform their patients throughout their individual pathway via an app. This has proven to result in safer and more prepared patients. This is according to Line Walker, Chief Physician at the Department of Surgery:

- The patient using the app is a completely different patient who is well-informed and knows almost everything about what's going to happen. Our experience is that patients who use the app demand treatment rather than waiting for treatment.

In the app, the patient is guided from the initial phase of preparation for surgery to the final rehabilitation process - all at a pace that suits the individual patient.

Fewer days in the hospital bed

The Department of Surgery has been working with the Emento Care Guide platform since 2020, and they can clearly see the difference the patient guide makes - not only to patients' knowledge levels, but also to their recovery time.

Experience from the department shows that patients who have used their patient guide are not only better prepared and confident, but also require shorter hospital stays and hospitalizations than patients who do not use a patient guide.

For patients with colon cancer, the normal hospitalization time is four days, while patients using the patient guide have managed to shave one day off, resulting in an average hospital stay of three days. Similarly, the department has managed to cut 2.5 days off the length of stay for patients being treated for rectal cancer, which without the app is six days.

The department's results with the patient guide show a clear benefit for both patients and the hospital. The ability to be in continuous digital contact with the patient is a great contrast to the three-centimeter-thick stack of paper that used to be the primary patient communication. With the patient guide, it's no longer just one-way communication, but two-way communication - and that makes both the ward's work and the patient's hospital journey easier.