While healthcare innovation is often referred to as breakthroughs in diagnostic tools or treatment methods, it also encompasses inventive ways to improve patient outcomes through existing tools.

As North America’s first fully digital hospital, Humber River Health (Humber) has innovation embedded into its core, maintaining this focus through years of expansion and evolution. Innovation extends to every facet of Humber’s programs, practice areas, and operations. This includes Humber’s surgical program, where revolutionary robotics have transformed surgery in the North York region. Innovation also means optimizing the patient experience outside of surgery through pre-operative and post-operative care, such as that facilitated by the mymobility® App.

While healthcare innovation is often referred to as breakthroughs in diagnostic tools or treatment methods, it also encompasses inventive ways to improve patient outcomes through existing tools. In essence, innovation addresses traditional barriers to the best possible care journey.  

mymobility® does just that. The user-friendly app is designed to improve clinical outcomes for hip and knee patients throughout their pre- and post-operative care process. When users open the app, they access on-demand educational content pertinent to their upcoming surgery, reminders, step tracking, and a task list to ensure preparedness for surgery and subsequent recovery. The app also shares easy ways for patients to track their recovery progress and guidance for reducing the risk of complications and improving overall health outcomes.  

Humber’s surgical program launched the mymobility® App in April 2023, marking the first time a Canadian hospital introduced this technology to orthopaedic surgery recipients. Participation and interest have proven strong, with over 700 patients of Humber currently enrolled in the app.  

Empowering patients in their care journey

“Innovation is one of the key differentiators of our surgical program. Every technology or new application that we introduce is done to strengthen how we deliver patient-centred care,” comments Ledor Babatinca, Manager of Ambulatory Surgical Clinics at Humber. “We introduced mymobility® because we recognized the significant role it could play in helping patients achieve better outcomes from hip and knee surgery, and with that, how it aligned with our strategic pillar of advancing how we empower our patients to take ownership of their health.”

Humber’s vision for empowering patients extends beyond information-sharing; it involves equipping patients with resources for better health results and experiences. mymobility® achieves this by providing a resource that can always be accessed, is user-friendly and easy to engage with, and enables patients to play a more active role in surgery preparation and recovery without requiring high levels of touchpoints with clinicians. 

Patients often lose motivation to keep up with recommendations they are given during their surgical journey, such as mobility exercise regimens. Humber has found that having a concerted and organized space for information and accountability – such as mymobility® – has succeeded at facilitating stronger levels of patient engagement and keeping them motivated to follow through on those recommendations. 

Clinicians also benefit from the app as they can use the information it collects to track patient progress, including a specific clinician dashboard that provides insights and results on each patient’s postoperative recovery. This information makes patient appointments more efficient, informative, and helpful. 

“The app is a really useful and beneficial augmentation to the traditional care pathway for orthopaedic patients.”

Orthopedic surgeons Dr. Justin Chang and Dr. Sebastian Rodriguez-Elizalde are at the forefront of this technological leap at Humber. They have played an instrumental role in championing the mymobility® App, recognizing its potential to revolutionize patient care in their specialty. Dr. Chang and Dr. Rodriguez-Elizalde believe in a holistic approach to patient care where technology complements traditional methods, and view the app as a bridge between the surgeon and patient, ensuring clear communication and better surgical outcomes. Their combined efforts and advocacy have not only highlighted the importance of the app, but have also been integral to its successful integration at Humber.

Ensuring continuity of care

mymobility® also facilitates continuity of care, ensuring that healthcare professionals and patients can effectively partner in ongoing health management and outcome optimization. This is especially true of situations in which a patient’s recovery is overseen by two or more health professionals, such as the process for hip and knee surgery patients, which consists of pre-operative and post-operative appointments paired with a separate engagement with physiotherapists for rehabilitation. 

“The app is a really useful and beneficial augmentation to the traditional care pathway for orthopaedic patients,” adds Babatinca. “mymobility® helps bridge the gaps between various appointments, keeping patients on track with recovery activities and ensuring streamlined communication between patients and their clinicians and physiotherapists.” 

By integrating technology into the day-to-day recovery of patients, mymobility® ensures they have access to all the documents and materials they need, when and where they need them. It is a true initiator of care continuity.  

Expanding services and the delivery of care   

mymobility® is just one example of how Humber is expanding the services it offers to patients and reflects its larger mandate to develop services beyond those of an acute care hospital. Every new initiative, program, or offering is centred on Humber’s mission of working with its community to deliver innovative, safe, and equitable healthcare.  

The way that patients use and engage with the mymobility® App will help Humber make data-driven decisions in the future, applying learnings of how the app impacts and improves patient outcomes. Such initiatives ensure that Humber continuously maximizes how technology is used to augment and support the best possible patient outcomes.