HealthchainStories
HEALTH LORD: Digital Innovation for Sustainable Recovery
The need
The main challenge addressed by Health Lord was the inefficiency of the traditional orthopaedic hip replacement pathway, marked by high administrative burden and prolonged hospitalisation (average seven days). HealthChain enabled digitally supported, patient-centred remote home rehabilitation to improve care continuity and hospital throughput. In parallel, the project addressed solution internationalisation by assessing cross-border applicability and preparing a first-phase market entry plan for Croatia, strengthening readiness for further EU markets.
The HealthChain Support
HealthChain supported Healthcare Organisations in identifying their innovation challenges and selecting companies to address them. They worked closely as an interregional team to co-create, test, and validate a solution aligned with real clinical workflows, patient needs, and organisational constraints. The project provided financial and business support to boost the solution’s market-readiness and commercialisation.
The
Solution
The Healthlord solution enables secure exchange of electronic medication plans between healthcare providers across care levels and empowers patients with structured post-discharge information following orthopedic treatment. Based on pilot results and internationalisation analysis, the patient-empowerment functionality was repositioned for specialist outpatient clinics rather than hospitals, enabling faster adoption, shorter sales cycles for SMEs, and higher value digitalisation to support scalable market entry.
It promotes patient-centred care by actively involving patients in their treatment pathways. Increased patient engagement and remote collaboration improve adherence, clinical effectiveness, and operational efficiency, delivering better health outcomes while supporting the long-term sustainability of healthcare services.
Impact
The primary measurable outcomes achieved were:
- The pilot successfully reduced the standard hospitalization time for hip replacement from 7 days to 2 days.
- This reduction was achieved while maintaining the same level of medical safety, quality of care, and patient efficacy, proving that the digital pathway is a viable alternative to traditional long-stay care.
- The pilot increased the market value of the solution and strengthened its commercial positioning.
- The pilot provided detailed insights into orthopaedic use cases, particularly patient empowerment after hip surgery and other orthopaedic procedures.
- The patient application was upgraded with a mobile version that is more user-friendly and requires minimal digital skills.
Outcomes
The impact of the solution extended beyond just clinical metrics to operational and patient-centric benefits:
- Hospitalisation Duration: Reduced from 7 days to 2 days.
- Rehabilitation Costs: Lower average hospitalization costs in the rehabilitation phase compared to standard procedures.
- Patient Satisfaction: Health-related quality of life and satisfaction remained at or above standard service levels.
- Patient Empowerment: The solution transformed patients from passive recipients into active participants. Through e-education and remote monitoring, patients were better prepared for surgery and more engaged in their recovery, leading to improved adherence to treatment plans. The solution demonstrated to be effective in education and reminders resulted in better involvement and compliance.
- Operational Efficiency: By automating administrative tasks and shifting patient monitoring to the home setting, the solution reduced manual workload for hospital staff and outpatient clinics. This alleviated pressure on hospital resources (beds and staff time), generated cost savings, and increased hospital throughput. For outpatient clinics, administrative costs were reduced, and service delivery processes were accelerated.
Sustainability
Commercial viability: The patient empowerment application combined with outpatient clinic digitalisation demonstrated strong commercial potential.
Adoption: The solution developed within the HealthChain pilot was further upgraded and adopted by an additional hospital, where it continues to be used and tested in real-world conditions.
Scalability: The pilot identified functionalities well-suited for specialist outpatient clinics, and a structured plan for further development and internationalisation of the solution was prepared.