Inform. Engage. Integrate.
Patient entertainment – connection & diversion
Patient entertainment plays a significant role in well-being and satisfaction, because patients expect to have as home-like an experience as possible when hospitalized. Since hospitalization can be a challenging time patients may feel vulnerable and isolated, so a platform for their entertainment and communication is critical. Patients and their families often feel lost and confused when it comes to a hospital stay. In fact, a patient’s perception of their hospital stay and care ties to research showing that having a strong sense of connection to their normal routine, social groups and activities alleviates anxiety and boredom. With Interactive Whiteboards, Tablets and touch-enabled in-room televisions, entertainment options are easy to engage with and use.
Entertainment investment & patient satisfaction
For healthcare providers, investment in an integrated patient entertainment and communication platform supplies impressive returns in patient satisfaction and HCAHPS scores. That drives referrals and positive reviews, establishing your facility as a preferred provider in your community. With MediaCare, you have an opportunity to create a less stressful and more engaging environment for your patients. You can increase patient satisfaction with a patient portal containing a wide range of movies, streaming options, podcasts, games and relaxation content. As a result, patients feel less anxious and more able to focus on their recovery.
For hospitalized healthcare consumers, digital entertainment content and social connection options are essential. Time in the hospital passes more quickly for patients when they have a range of entertainment options, which increases patient satisfaction. With seamless integration to all major streaming and cable services, patients have access to a wide variety of options for TV viewing, gaming, social connection and family connection through video.
Features for Patients and Providers
- Eliminate costly infrastructure and server boxes with television viewing options. Since MediaCare pairs each in-room television with the individual receiver, patients have complete control over their viewing experience.
- Maintenance and software changes or updates are managed across the enterprise from the Data Center or IT Department.
- Clinicians can push messages to in-room televisions and Tablet TVs across the enterprise. That means offering appointment and treatment reminders, facility notifications, educational content and discharge information.
- HCI entertainment options integrate with any make or model of smart TV with an HDMI port, so our solution isn’t limited to a specific make or model. You can scale the integration to meet your organization’s specific needs.
- Movies are available in both English and Spanish and can be displayed as closed-captioned. In addition to new releases, patients can select from a collection of film classics, new titles and exclusive content.
- Patients have the option to control their in-room TV using either their Pillow Speaker or the capacitive touch screen on their BedMate Tablet TV.
- Patients can search and select content they want to listen to or view. In addition, age-appropriate content and parental controls are built into the integration. And those features are controlled just like they would be at home, so parents and guardians have extra peace of mind that appropriate content is available.
Visual guides help patients navigate to their favorite genres of entertainment. The BedMate Tablet TV has personal device ports so patients can use their own devices to access their favorite platforms.
Connection options for patient entertainment
Interactive channel guide
- The Interactive Channel Guide makes it easy to find news, sports, movies, and all genres of entertainment programs. Tailor the guide with your branding, colors, and logo. What’s more, Standard Closed Captioning allows you to configure the guide’s font size and scrolling speed to the needs of specific patients. With DirecTV and DISH Network integration, MediaCare taps into existing infrastructure and eliminates the need for additional wires to patient TVs.
Games and gaming
- MediaCare gives your patients an extensive selection of interactive games for a fun and engaging experience. Game consoles of all types can be plugged into the unit for patient and family gaming, and the pillow speaker, touchscreen or wireless keyboard can control game play. Digital card games, word games, logic puzzles, crossword puzzles, trivia and cryptogram puzzles are included.
Social Media channels
- Using their own login credentials over the organization’s Internet connection, patients can browse the Web and remain connected to social communities using the virtual or wireless keyboard to stay connected with family, friends and social groups. Further, you can offer connection with email providers so patients never miss the communication they prefer.
Relaxation content supports pain management and deeper rest
We interviewed Brett Dowdy, Psy.D., Chief of Psychological Services, Cincinnati’s Lindner Center of HOPE and Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, on the topic of relaxation and entertainment content for patients.
Dr. Dowdy advised, “We know that medical events have emotional and psychological consequences. While we attend to the body’s recovery, we often neglect attending the mind, emotions and spirit of the client. Offering clients a range of relaxing, inviting entertainment and relaxation options can improve their psychological well-being and ability to cope with the stress associated with physical illness. One of the gifts of improved emotional health is the positive impact it has on physical wellness and recovery from medical events.”
Most-viewed content
The most-viewed patient entertainment content in a typical healthcare facility is the relaxation content, and not surprisingly, it’s most often viewed in the evenings. Since HCI relaxation content offers eleven distinct categories of mindfulness and sleep-focused material, there’s a wide range of material to choose. All of the content is geared toward helping patients relieve stress, boredom and relax more deeply.
Relaxing video and music content have a powerful effect on patient well-being to support recuperation and a quiet environment. Take for example Liquid Mind Music, designed specifically to combat anxiety. That’s an example of calming music content that can be accessed via streaming channels available to patients. This type of audio content can lead to a better overall patient satisfaction level.
Video Connection with Family and Friends
Family & Friends Connect gives patients the opportunity to securely videoconference with multiple locations to stay connected and engaged. With video, patients and families can provide updates and reassurance to remote family and loved ones in real time. That opens up a way for remote family to feel engaged in the patient’s health journey by offering comfort from their location.
Revenue Generation Opportunities Using the Patient TV
With MediaCare, you have the opportunity to integrate with your in-house retail operations like Foodservice, Pharmacy and Gift Shop.
- Offer patient entertainment through branded retail shopping and meal ordering, or offer pharmacy prescription fulfillment right from the bedside.
- Through MediaCare, foodservice menus are tailored to patients’ dietary guidelines as outlined in the EHR. If these services are subcontracted, we can easily integrate with your vendors.
- Patients who take advantage of retail apps within your facility will receive automatic acknowledgement of their purchase, billing to their room as applicable. This feature can be activated as desired per patient, and the MediaCare dashboard provides reporting on services ordered and used.
We welcome a discovery conversation to illustrate the many options for patient entertainment in your organization. Learn more with a virtual demo on how HCI can help patient satisfaction scores soar.