The meeting, opened by dignitaries including Honorable Gary Mar, Minister of Alberta Health and Wellness, and board chairs from both Caritas and Capital Health, saw delegates from 13 countries exploring use of digital technologies to meet clinical needs in this area. COMPRU, the Misericordia's Craniofacial Prosthetic Rehabilitation Unit, is dedicated to reconstruction of the head and neck. The event was co - hosted by Caritas Health Group and Maxillofacial Surgery Unit from Morriston Hospital in Swansea, Wales.
"Improving both the quality of our clinical and technical processes while simultaneously reducing the cost of care means a much better quality of life for our patients much more quickly and affordably," explains Dr. Wolfaardt, COMPRU's co-director. "By using digital applications to reduce countless hours of hands – on work, we can reallocate resources to direct patient care and reduce our lengthy waiting lists."
"One example of COMPRU's work is producing life-like prosthetic ears, which involves painstaking detail – coloring and sculpting all done by hand. This work takes place over a period of time compromised of many clinic visits, often difficult for the many out-of-town patients which make up 58 percent of their patient population.
By using digital technology to simplify this work, a time saving of 30 percent can be realized, which is significant when patients are waiting to receive treatment. Resources once used to hand-build these models are now focused on direct patient care.
"Embracing change is the key to so many successes in health care," says Misericordia Vice President Sheli Murphy. "The gathering of minds which took place is an aim to refine processes like these even further in the future," she explains, adding that these efficiencies also mean better use of disciplines like nursing staff and rehabilitation services, not to mention precious operating room time.
"When these resources are in such high demand no matter what are of health care you examine, we must all be as efficient as possible without compromising quality," adds Dr. Wolfaardt. "Digital technology affords us this opportunity, if we choose to take advantage of it."
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