London-based myrecovery is a digital health startup whose app seeks to help orthopedic surgery patients feel more informed about their pre- and post-op care and treatment plan.
The company was cofounded by two surgeons: Axel Sylvan and Tom Harte. Though they are doctors, they have also experienced life as patients. Harte has undergone numerous operations, and Sylvan had spine surgery in 2012. From these experiences, they came to realize the importance of having access to information on recovery.
Through its app, myrecovery wants to “improve that patient experience by improving the flow of information,” Sylvan said in a recent phone interview.
The app includes tips and advice for patients. It also gives them a way to track their progress on the road to recovery. All the content is approved by the patient’s surgeon, making the information tailored to the individual rather relying on a one-size-fits-all model.
From the clinical perspective, myrecovery lets surgeons stay in touch with their patients and oversee their treatment plan.
The startup’s model allows for a customizable patient experience, Sylvan said. “By the same token, it also benefits the clinical team,” he added.
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Tim Closs, who serves as CTO, noted that the company has two target audiences. One is a group of younger patients between the ages of 20 and 30 who often need surgery following sports injuries. The other, its primary demographic, is people 65 and older who need operations like knee and hip replacements.
“A lot of people said [an app’s] not going to work. Those people don’t have smartphones. Actually, the majority do,” Closs said in a phone interview.
In fact, Sylvan told a story of when he was presenting the app to a group of patients between the ages of 57 and 86. One 84-year-old man asked, “Is the app going to work on my iPad Pro?”
“There’s not one kind of user out there,” Sylvan said. “You get the full spectrum.”
Despite the fact that many of these older patients utilize current technologies, myrecovery has to cater to them a bit. Options like larger click areas, tutorial videos, larger fonts and voice control for those who have arthritis have been key adjustments to fit the needs of this population.
The company’s platform currently can integrate with numerous EHR systems. However, it can’t integrate with all EHRs yet, Sylvan noted.
Myrecovery has clients in the U.K., as well as in a few states in America. It also has plans to move into markets in various other countries, including Canada and Australia.
Update: Framingham, Massachusetts-based Applause has helped myrecovery with crowdsourced testing of its app.
Photo: Simonkr, Getty Images
