Embedding a Digital Pre- and Post-Surgery Program Into Your Practice (Without Adding Admin Burden)

Interview with Dr Sam Mooney (Gynaecological Surgeon)

Multidisciplinary prehab and rehab for surgery isn’t a gynaecological surgeon motivation problem… it’s a structural problem… until now.

Patients frequently:

• Arrive to surgery anxious and underprepared

• Leave hospital unsure what is normal

• Return to follow-up with variable recovery and unanswered questions

This creates pressure on:

• Consultation time

• Post-operative support

• Overall patient experience

And importantly, it sits outside what most clinics can realistically provide within existing workflows.

Why the peri-operative phase matters more than we think

There is growing recognition that outcomes are influenced by more than the procedure itself.

Pre-operative factors such as:

• Anxiety

• Expectations

• Health literacy

…and post-operative factors such as:

• Guidance on recovery

• Pain understanding

• Return to function

can significantly shape:

• Patient satisfaction

• Recovery trajectory

• Follow-up consult efficiency

In practice, this means better-supported patients often:

• Ask more focused questions

• Recover with greater confidence

• Require less reactive support

The challenge: time, scale, and consistency

Most gynaecologists already value multidisciplinary care.

The challenge is not whether to provide it, but how to deliver it:

• Referrals can be inconsistent

• Access varies by location

• Patients don’t always follow through

• Coordinating care adds admin burden

As a result, even highly engaged clinicians are often limited by:

• Time constraints

• Clinic workflow

• System fragmentation

A simple model: embedding Matilda as standard care

Rather than adding more referrals or appointments, an alternative approach is to embed support directly into the surgical pathway.

This means:

• Every patient receives structured pre- and post-operative support

• No reliance on individual follow-through

• No additional coordination required from the clinic

From a workflow perspective, this shifts care from:

• Optional, variable, and often not accessed → to standardised and consistent

What this looks like in practice

Clinics currently embedding Matilda typically follow a simple flow:

1. Introduce at the point of booking

• Patient is informed about the program as part of their surgical pathway

• Positioned as standard care, not an optional add-on

2. Quick referral process (20–30 seconds)

• Admin submits a simple intake form

• No complex setup or back-and-forth required

3. Patient onboarded automatically

• Receives access to:

  • Pre-operative education

  • Recovery guidance

  • Multidisciplinary input

  • Weekly group support

4. Clinician receives outcome insights

• Structured feedback returned at key timepoints

• Includes patient-reported outcomes and key questions

Designed to reduce, not add, workload

A common concern is whether adding another layer of care increases complexity.

In practice, the goal is the opposite.

Embedding a structured program can help:

• Reduce repetitive patient education in consults

• Improve baseline patient understanding

• Streamline post-operative conversations

Many clinicians find that patients:

• Arrive more informed

• Feel more prepared

• Engage more effectively in follow-up

And they often find that they enjoy less admin calls

Aligning with modern models of care

There is increasing movement towards:

• Value-based care

• Prehabilitation and rehabilitation

• Patient-reported outcomes

Embedding structured peri-operative support aligns with these trends by:

• Supporting better preparation and recovery

• Providing measurable outcomes

• Delivering care beyond the hospital setting

Supporting the whole patient, not just the procedure

Endometriosis is not just a surgical condition.

Patients often require support across:

• Pain understanding

• Movement and function

• Mental wellbeing

• Lifestyle factors

Providing this through a scalable model allows clinics to:

• Offer more complete care

• Without increasing individual clinician workload

Key takeaways for clinicians

• The peri-operative phase is a major determinant of patient experience

• Most gaps in care occur before and after surgery

• Traditional referral pathways are inconsistent and time-intensive

• Embedding structured support improves consistency without adding admin

• Digital models allow scalable, multidisciplinary care

A final thought

Most gynaecologists already recognise the need for better support around surgery.

The challenge has always been delivering it in a way that is:

• Practical

• Scalable

• Sustainable within a busy clinic

Embedding a structured pre- and post-operative program offers one way to bridge that gap, without adding complexity to your day.

Learn more about our endometriosis surgery support program.

Or, see the research the Matilda program was built on here