How Gleneagles Hospital Penang went from 17% to 70% response while volume grew eightfold
Programmes usually lose response as they grow. This one gained 53 points.
The challenge
Surgical site infections often appear after patients go home, so timely follow-up after discharge matters. Gleneagles Hospital Penang followed patients up by phone, and it was slow: calls went unanswered, landlines failed, and asking a patient to describe a wound across a language barrier was close to impossible. Infections risked being found late.
What they did
The infection control team moved follow-up to SafetyOS post-discharge monitoring. Patients were enrolled at discharge and sent a check-in link at set intervals after surgery, such as days 7, 14 and 30.
- At first, links went by SMS. Messages failed to arrive, some patients suspected a scam, and language was a barrier.
- Then the team switched to sending the links by WhatsApp, an app patients already trust, added multilingual support, and involved caregivers.
The results
From 2023 to 2025 the number of patients followed grew from 93 to 746, an eightfold increase. Programmes usually lose response as they grow, because they start reaching people who are less engaged. Here response rose from 17% to 70%, a gain of 53 points (p < 0.001). In Q1 2026 it is 57%. Across 2025 and Q1 2026, 65% of 1,234 patients responded.
Failed deliveries, scam worries and difficulties for older patients fell, helped by caregivers. Clinicians could see how each wound was healing and decide early on interventions.
This is one hospital. Its 1,327 patients are local and international, from many races, languages and cultures.
What lifted it
The team made small changes to lift response, and to keep it high as the programme grew. Kym Wong goes through them at the 2nd ENA OR Society & UAE AORN Chapter Symposium in Dubai on 15 November.
Join the talk: Discharged, Not Done →“Before Semmel, we had issues with patients not answering our calls and hanging up on us! I also had to get my colleagues to help speak with patients that has a language barrier. Imagine asking a patient to describe his wound. It's overwhelming! After Semmel, admin tasks are cut and data collection is automated with an astounding 65% response rate! Our clinicians love the photos showing how the wound is evolving and able to decide on early interventions.”
Read the poster
Saidon N, Elangovan A, Muniandy N, Sapiai S. Leveraging WhatsApp to Enhance Post-Surgical Surveillance through a Remote Patient Monitoring Platform. Gleneagles Hospital Penang, 2025.
Follow every surgical patient home, the same way.