Sourasky Medical Center and Israeli digital health firm GistMd have joined forces in a shared initiative to develop animated videos to educate patients on the treatments they receive for various medical conditions.
Following three years of cooperation between Sourasky medical staff and a multidisciplinary team from GistMD, a platform powering real-time creation of animated, personalized videos was developed.
The new platform will considerably decrease the burden on caregiving staff and reduce the cost of their care, the Tel Aviv hospital said in a statement.
The platform will take into account the patients’ demographic background and medical profile and send an SMS to their phones with a link to their personalized videos that will provide them with all the relevant information needed on their road to recovery.
According to Sourasky Medical Center, research indicates that effective patient engagement in their own treatment can improve their chances of recovery and reduce the risk of complications. An engaged patient’s stay at a medical facility can be less than half as long as that of a disengaged and uninformed patient, research also found.
“In order to be involved in decisions regarding [their] health, the patient needs to understand a plethora of medical terms, many of them outside the scope of their knowledge,” according to Prof. Ronni Gamzu, CEO of Sourasky Medical Center and formerly Israel’s coronavirus commissioner.
“Combined with variables such as language, cultural gaps and the patient’s mental and emotional state, the challenge becomes even more complex,” he said. “Every medical practitioner has experienced the frustration of hearing from patients that they do not know what to expect, even after their clinician has done everything possible to educate them on their condition and treatment.”
The platform was partially funded by the Israeli Innovation Authority and the government through its National Digital Program.