Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Digital health education increases health literacy
MediaCare from HCI offers patient-specific digital health education, which patients can access at any time through their in-room digital whiteboard or in-room television. Care Teams assign clinically-reviewed, age-appropriate and evidence-based patient education videos from a vast library of digital content. Draw the content from your current digital education system, or choose a subscription service that works best for your patients. MediaCare, working in tandem with HCI Interactive Whiteboards, Interactive Modules and patient TVs offers:
- Diagnostic and patient-specific educational content, delivered automatically or scheduled by the medical staff.
- Completion rate reporting, with the ability to send reminders to to patients to complete their education viewing.
- Patient compliance data, automatically entered into the EHR, with comprehension monitoring.
- A digital learning app that’s consistent with Joint Commission Standards and meets ARRA Meaningful Use aims for better health outcomes.
How digital patient education delivers higher rates of comprehension and reduces post-op care
Automatic content assignment
A study conducted by the California Healthcare Foundation found that digital integration systems with an education component reduce the time nurses need to initiate an education session from 19.1 minutes to 5.2 minutes, a savings of nearly 14 minutes per round. That’s a significant time savings for the Care Team. It’s easy to get started: the first step at implementation is to choose a content library. You can see a list of the health content providers HCI works with here. We can also establish your existing video library as the content delivery system.
Second, you’ll determine how to set up content assignments. Assign the health education content right at admission, based on diagnosis codes in the EHR. Educational content can also be assigned based on clinical orders, or caregivers can search content topics in the library and assign videos. Nurses and caregivers use the patient’s digital whiteboard or in-room patient TV to see the list of content assigned to the patient. Using these touchscreen digital devices, they can then send prompts to watch. Best of all, caregivers can assign content while they’re still in the room and conversations with patients are fresh and in context.
Comprehension follow-up
After viewing a video, prompt patients to answer comprehension questions, or ask if they have further questions. If a patient would like more information, HCI can set up an automated notification that goes to your designee. That individual can then follow-up with patients in person.
For patients with comprehension or language challenges, this extra step ensures patients fully understand the content, and adherence is higher. You can also distribute surveys about the content based on branching logic. A big benefit to this personal attention is that you can address any confusion to make sure your patient is clear on the content.
Clinicians have flexibility to make appropriate changes, add, or delete videos for the patient to view. The agility of MediaCare makes it easy for a clinician to assign more or different content. Viewing content can also be added to a patient’s Goals list as a condition of discharge.
Nurses and clinicians can view the percentage of content viewed, and send a reminder to patients to watch their videos.
With push messaging to the patient TV, caregivers can assign new content, or play video content on the TV immediately, even if the TV is off.
A digital health education system ensures clinicians spend time on critical patient care tasks. Regular communication and timely follow-up make the difference between a patient who is engaged, informed, and prepared for discharge or a patient who is unprepared for the transition out of the hospital.