News & Events: PrehabPal

Specific health measures – such as function, cognition and psychological well-being – should be incorporated into the assessment of whether major surgery is suitable for older adults, especially if the mortality risk after surgery outweighs the benefits, according to a new study by researchers at UC San Francisco. In a review of nearly 1,350 U.S. patients age 66 and older, almost 1-in-5 of those who had major surgery died within a year. Factors such as dementia and lost ability to perform activities of daily living were significantly associated with mortality, the researchers said.  

PrehabPal garnerered a top prize at the recent Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Healthcare innovation Competition. For its pitch, Ooney demoed its online app for patients preparing to undergo surgery. By providing a selection of targeted exercises or routines, the company looks to reduce the chance of poor outcomes, explained founder Dr. Emily Finlayson. "Every year, over 4 million operations are performed on frail older adults. That's nearly 50% of all major high-risk operations in the US, and we know from epidemiology that older adults suffer complications at exponentially higher rates [...]

The UCSF Center for Surgery in Older Adults is pleased to announce that we have been awarded funding from the UCSF Integrative Oncology Collaborative (IOC) for our pilot project: "PrehabPal: Digitally Enhanced Coaching to Prepare the Mind and Body for Cancer Surgery." The principal investigator on the study is Emily Finlayson MD, MS, Professor of Surgery, Medicine, and Health Policy, and Director of the Center for Surgery in Older Adults. A key component of the project is the web app "PrehabPal". Marrying high tech with high touch coaching from the patient support corps, PrehabPal evaluates [...]