Using data to gain deeper insights into the effectiveness of treatments while reducing administrative burdens. The Yes We Can Healthcare Group achieved this with its self-developed intelligent applications. Digital innovation ensures their team can focus on what truly matters: guiding young adults (called fellows) aged 13 to 25 who struggle with mental health issues, addictions and behavioural problems, towards recovery.
For a long time, the Yes We Can Healthcare Group sought a solution to monitor treatment outcomes transparently and streamline record-keeping. Existing software solutions failed to meet their specific needs. Refusing to compromise, Yes We Can chose to innovate. This led to the creation of the app Discovery by Hawking, part of the Yes We Can Healthcare Group. The results have been transformative. By reducing the administrative burden on youth coaches, counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists, Discovery has saved them hours of reporting time each day. Instead of spending nearly two hours writing reports, coaches now spend less than half an hour. The combination of smart technology and artificial intelligence delivers structured, predictive data that leads to better care outcomes, more efficient workflows and sharper insights into fellows’ treatment progress.
When designing Discovery, the team at Hawking prioritised solving the most pressing issue: the administrative workload of the Yes We Can team. “I want to spend as much time as possible with the young people,” says Bram, Team Captain of Youth Coaches at Yes We Can. “They follow an intensive programme, and we build a close bond with each other in a short time. I don’t want to walk around with a laptop or tablet, as that would only get in the way of the connection. That’s why we only started reporting once the fellows are in bed.” Previously, after late shifts, coaches would spend hours typing up reports. Now, these reports are quickly compiled using predictive tags and tailored headings. This allows them to focus on meaningful data while spending more time engaging with fellows. “Thanks to Discovery, reporting takes me far less time, which gives me more peace of mind and literally more sleep.”
The Youth Coaches are with the fellows in the clinic all day. They act like a brother or sister and offer support when needed. They have continuous interaction with the fellows, which results in seeing everything that happens in the group and developing a sixth sense to perceive things that are not seen or spoken out loud. This allows the Youth Coaches to gather essential information about the fellows treated at Yes We Can. The findings are shared during daily multidisciplinary meetings with therapists, counsellors, nursing staff and psychiatrists, and everything is now kept track of in Discovery. This not only saves time but also provides valuable input, optimization suggestions for the treatment process and gives the multidisciplinary team a clear, real-time view of each fellow’s development.
“Yes We Can demonstrates how digital innovation, when tailored to real-world needs, empowers healthcare professionals to provide life-changing care.”
Johan Linssen, CEO of the Yes We Can Healthcare Group, explains: “All our applications must enable our colleagues to work smarter in significantly less time. We achieve this with Discovery, but also, for example, with Honeygrid. Based on a model developed by three renowned psychiatrists, Honeygrid allows colleagues to intuitively compile symptom patterns. Using artificial intelligence, they can quickly create a diagnosis and treatment plan. It’s still completely personalised and tailored to each fellow, but in less time and with far greater insight. At Yes We Can, we have one goal: ‘Everything for the fellow.’ This can only be achieved if we enable our colleagues to fully focus on them.”
At Yes We Can, the motto ‘Everything for the fellow’ is not just a phrase, it’s a guiding principle embedded in the whole organization and in every treatment method. Tools like Discovery and Honeygrid demonstrate how digital innovation, when tailored to real-world needs, empowers healthcare professionals to provide life-changing care. By working smarter, Yes We Can ensures every second is spent where it truly matters: helping young people take back control of their lives and achieve lasting recovery.
And their approach has proven to be very successful. More than 74% of former fellows no longer need specialised care after completing the residential treatment and aftercare programme. Every year, Yes We Can treats over 1,000 young people aged 13 to 25 who struggle with mental health issues, addictions and behavioural problems. Together with other fellows from all around the world, they learn to recognise and acknowledge their problems, ask for help and speak out. In a place where unconditional warmth, safety and confrontation at the right time are pivotal, over 500 highly specialised healthcare professionals work hard to help fellows and their families turn hopelessness into happiness. Parallel to their treatment, parents and/or carers participate in an intensive family coaching and counselling programme.
