Electronic Patient Itineraries Improve Patient Outcomes
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
iPads make hospital stays more predictable and less frightening for patients.
A “Patient Itinerary” app now in use at Mount Sinai Hospital enables patients to view a detailed schedule of upcoming treatments, procedures, and tests via tablets. Designed by the Mount Sinai Inpatient Design Model Redesign Team and developed by Mount Sinai Information Technology, the iPad app is housed on tablets provided by the New York City-based tech company PadInMotion. Staff recently expanded a pilot program for the app, which features access to secure, HIPAA-compliant patient information, making it available for up to 100 patients without cost.
“The ultimate goal with our Patient Itinerary app is to provide a real-time snapshot of clinical care information to make the hospital stay less stressful – and to make our patients better informed – all towards ensuring a good health outcome for those in our care,” said Kumar Chatani, MBA, CIO for the Mount Sinai Health System. “Our Information Technology and Nursing Departments will continue to work together to refine an already successful rollout, and we believe Patient Itinerary will soon become a standard that other hospitals emulate.”
The tablets were first introduced in early 2013 with access to education and entertainment such as movies and Internet. Patients completing a built-in short questionnaire gave the tablets 4.75 out of 5.0 stars, says Michael DeCarlo, director of innovation and analytics, according to HealthData Management.
However, Carol Porter, R.N., a senior vice president and chief nursing officer, explained what patients really wanted was clearer communication of what is scheduled for them during their stay. Patients like to know when tests are being done and blood is being drawn.
Personalized patient itineraries were first made available in late 2013. Gradually, about 35 iPads, rented from PadInMotion, were supplied to the five units. The hospital pays for the iPads and the cost is not passed on to patients.
Despite the success of the pilot program, with the merger of Mount Sinai and Continuum Health Partners into a delivery system comprising about 3,500 beds, using iPads to expand the program is not economically feasible. Instead, the organization is exploring how to expand the program at Mount Sinai and integrate into the Continuum hospitals under a BYOD program, enabling patients to use their own smartphones and iPads.
“We’ve collected enough data to prove value, so the next phase is BYOD,” DeCarlo says.
Porter explains that incoming patients at participating units will be informed of the service, and asserts that “When clinical partners with IT, you really can do remarkable things for the patients. Nurses across the nation really need to reach out to their IT colleagues and work together to improve the patient experience.”