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Before the collaboration between Medical Clinic Velsen and Caro Health unfolded in 2020, the clinic struggled with how to inform patients in an effective and efficient way. The traditional approach with old-fashioned leaflets no longer met the needs of the modern patient. In this interview, Dr. Aernout Zuiderbaan, orthopedic surgeon at Medical Clinic Velsen, talks about the positive impact the Caro Health app has had on their patient counseling and information services.
Meanwhile, Medical Clinic Velsen has integrated all orthopedic treatments into the Caro app, ranging from prosthetics to cruciate ligament surgery. The app offers patients expert guidance throughout their treatment journey. This starts as early as one month before to months after surgery. For Aernout, the app is a gamechanger in terms of proper guidance: "Patients are provided with excellent information from A to Z, which removes their uncertainties."
Thus, through Caro, patients receive practical information and tips to prepare for the procedure. "If you inform your patient well, you avoid disappointment later," Aernout emphasizes. "Sometimes people think they can do everything again soon after a cruciate ligament surgery, but that's not true." According to the orthopedist, this is why the app is so valuable: "This innovative solution takes over a piece of expectation management from us. So the patient knows exactly where they stand, which is very important. During a consultation, I don't have time to explain this step by step."
Caro also helps patients recover optimally after surgery and reassures patients experiencing common symptoms. Patients track their recovery through the app, which doctors can monitor in real time. "As a surgeon, I like being able to keep an eye on how my patients are doing from time to time," says Aernout. "For example, sometimes I check to see if a wound is healing properly."
By providing patients with the right information at the right time in their treatment journey, the app removes many questions. As many as 87% of patients report that the app has answered questions for which they would otherwise have had to call the clinic. "We get a lot fewer calls from patients. Because of Caro, they know better where they stand at every stage of their treatment. And instead of always picking up the phone to call, they can easily look up information themselves in the app. This leads to a huge relief for our switchboard," Aernout says gratefully.
"Patients really see Caro as part of the treatment," says orthopedist Aernout. "The app provides guidance and support throughout the process. It's nice to see how grateful people are for the extra guidance and sense of security the app gives them." They also see this reflected in the results at Medical Clinic Velsen: patients rate the Caro app an average of 8.5.
"The app provides guidance and support throughout the journey. It's great to see how grateful people are for the extra guidance and sense of security the app gives them."
The choice of Caro as digital care assistant was quickly made. "Already during the first contact we were enthusiastic about the possibilities of the app. There was no reason for us to look any further. The implementation also went very smoothly," says orthopedist Aernout. "Within a month we were up and running with Caro."
He continues: "We work very pleasantly with Caro Health as a clinic. They are easily approachable and are always there for us. If we want to adjust something in the app, it is taken care of immediately. It's also easy to modify things in the app and implement them ourselves."
In short, the digital care assistant Caro is a valuable addition to care at Medical Clinic Velsen, according to orthopedist Aernout Zuiderbaan. The app improves patient guidance, gives the care team more insight into recovery and lightens the workload.
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