Five Hospitals Tell How They've Improved Digital Communication With Patients

We are always looking for ways that technology can support both the patient and the members of the care team to improve patient and family engagement. Here are two recent examples:

A few years ago, we instituted advanced technology of the nurse call system that captures and tracks patient's requests along with response time indicators. The information for the patient's request was sent to an iPhone as a secured text message and received by RNs and our clinical care technicians. When receiving the message, they would need to stop what they were doing and pick up their phone, log in and read the request. Recently, the care team thought a hands-free option would add value and allow them a quicker response time. The organization provided the care team members with a "badge" that supports two-way conversation — hands-free.