Hospital for Special Surgery - Your personal connection to world-class care

Insight
Founded in 1863 by James Knight, Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City is the oldest orthopaedic hospital in the United States and is consistently ranked as the top in the world.

HSS sought to extend exceptional in-hospital service and care to patients’ homes to encourage them to participate in surgical preparation and recovery. Plus, streamline access to and communication with a wide range of HSS providers and departments.

Idea
Patients connected to care.

In close collaboration with the HSS Digital, IT, Marketing, Analytics, and Clinical teams, AKQA designed and developed the MyHSS app, the digital platform available to all patients receiving care at HSS.

Built on top of the industry-standard patient-care SDK Epic MyChart, the MyHSS app allows patients to manage appointments, view and contact care teams, and track postoperative pain levels.

Within the MyHSS app, My CareGuide, provides customised content and activities for personalised care leading up to and after surgery. Content and care recommendations change dynamically based on the surgery, and doctors can further personalise the experience as needed for each individual.

Our goal was to centralise all critical tasks, notifications, and instructions onto one landing page, enabling our surgeons and clinical staff to engage patients in exciting new ways.

Benjamin Kaplan, Sr. Director, Product, HSS

Impact
Improved outcomes for patients.

Since launch, doctors continue to see increased engagement with My CareGuide, helping patients feel more connected to procedures and resulting in better overall surgical outcomes. Patients reviewed the app: “HSS APP is very easy to use and efficient. It made getting my new patient information updated simple. Even linking my scans and reports from another hospital were easy.”