Integrated digital pathways for better care at AZ Herentals

AZ Herentals is strongly committed to the digitalisation of the patient journey. Since the summer of 2024, patients across various surgical pathways have been receiving their information digitally via Mynexuzhealth. The knee prosthesis pathway was one of the first concrete applications. Less than two years later, this approach is already demonstrating clear added value, with stronger patient engagement and a more efficient, better-organised workflow.

As with other care pathways, the centralised electronic health record ensures that all stakeholders involved in digital care pathways always have access to the right information, both hospital staff and the patient.

This was not always the case, explains Koen Piedfort, care pathway coordinator at AZ Herentals: “Previously, an orthopaedic pathway always started with an information session to inform the patient about the procedure. The entire team was involved: doctors, nurses, physiotherapists and more. Afterwards, patients received a stack of brochures, which they often did not read. This approach was very time-consuming and inefficient.”

Maximum engagement and efficiency

Thanks to Mynexuzhealth, patients are now optimally informed about their care pathway at all times. Koen Piedfort explains: “In an orthopaedic pathway, the procedure is first scheduled in Nexuzhealth Hospital: CWS, after which the patient undergoes preoperative consultations and examinations. From that moment on, the digital flow begins: documents and information about the procedure are automatically and gradually sent digitally before, during and after the intervention. This ensures that patients always receive the right information at the right time. Through Mynexuzhealth, they also receive automatic notifications, so they always know when information becomes available.”

This integrated digital care pathway not only impacts the patient, but also internal operations. Leen De Ceulaer, CWS implementation specialist at AZ Herentals, highlights clear efficiency gains: “All documentation is now centralised and not longer scattered across the hospital. Duplicate work due to data reuse is a thing of the past. Updates are also handled automatically, ensuring that everyone always works with the most up-to-date information.”

In the meantime, eight care pathways have already been converted into digital trajectories, half of which are within orthopaedics. Each year, additional pathways are introduced, gradually embedding digitalisation into the hospital’s daily operations.

Tailored information leads to greater trust

The information patients receive via Mynexuzhealth is not only up to date, but also fully tailored to both the patient and the hospital. For example, patients can watch videos in which AZ Herentals staff provide additional explanations about the care pathway, an approach that builds trust and delivers significant time savings.

Dr Stijn Bartholomeeusen, orthopaedic surgeon at AZ Herentals, explains: “Patients can watch the videos calmly on the platform after their consultation. Where information from brochures was often lost in the past, we now see that patients better understand the pathway and ask more targeted questions. This makes consultations more efficient and results in fewer follow-up calls.”

A standard questionnaire such as PREMS (Patient-Reported Experience Measures) has also been integrated into the centralised electronic health record. Dr Stijn Bartholomeeusen adds: “PREMS is a standard questionnaire that measures patient satisfaction with care. It allows us to systematically capture the patient experience. Patients provide feedback on their treatment, enabling us to improve care quality in a targeted way. We observe that well-informed patients also have more realistic expectations about the procedure and recovery. This improves not only satisfaction but also clinical outcomes.”

Higher satisfaction, shorter length of stay

The use of Mynexuzhealth at AZ Herentals is clearly delivering results, as shown by a recent survey. No less than 90% of surveyed patients indicate that the information provided is useful to very useful. 88% rate the usability of the digital information flow as good to excellent, and 72% would recommend the digital approach.

Operationally, clear improvements are also visible. The average length of stay after a procedure has decreased in recent years. AZ Herentals therefore deliberately opts for digital care pathways to continuously improve efficiency.

Rudy Van Ballaer, CEO of AZ Herentals, places this in a broader perspective: “As a regional pioneer in digitalisation, we want to continue investing in solutions that truly make a difference. Today, we often see multiple apps coexisting within the healthcare landscape, depending on the pathway or treatment, which leads to fragmentation for patients. With Mynexuzhealth, we consciously choose to bring everything together in one platform, linked to the electronic health record. This gives patients one central place to follow their care pathway.”

That digitalisation is a priority at AZ Herentals is also confirmed by Inge Nell, EHR Consultant at Nexuzhealth: “AZ Herentals deserves full recognition for its approach. The hospital continues to invest in further digitalisation. This allows us to rely on valuable input to continuously improve our applications together and enhance hospital productivity.”

Well-informed for the best care

At AZ Herentals, digitalisation is an integral part of how care is organised. Rudy Van Ballaer concludes: “Digitalisation and further empowering patients are key priorities for us. We believe it is essential that patients are well informed and can access information at their own pace, outside the hospital setting. In this way, we continue to build care pathways step by step that are not only more efficient, but can also be extended to other domains within and beyond the hospital.”

Within orthopaedic pathways at AZ Herentals, the impact of Mynexuzhealth is clearly visible. The combination of the centralised electronic health record and phased digital communication results in better-informed patients, increased efficiency, and smoother care processes.

The result is an integrated digital care pathway that contributes to high-quality care for all stakeholders.