New York Hospital Issues Tablets To Patients, Targets Patient Education

Mount Sinai Hospital in New York has joined the ranks of the growing number of healthcare systems nationwide providing patients with tablets to improve their hospital stay.

A new “Patient Itinerary” app – designed by the hospital’s IT department – is housed on iPads and provides patients with a detailed schedule of upcoming treatments, procedures and tests.

A pilot program for the app has also been recently expanded by staff which features access to secure, HIPAA-compliant patient information. The program is currently available for 100 patients at no 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, chief information officer for Mount Sinai Health System, in a recent press release.

The new app will remove much of the confusion that arrives when patients need to take their next dose of medication or when waiting for their upcoming surgery.

“The Patient Itinerary app not only puts that critical information at our fingertips – but also in the hands of our patients, and that’s a crucial component of quality care,” said Carol Porter, DNP, RN, FAAN, Edgar M. Cullman Sr., Chair of the Department of Nursing at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Chief Nursing Office and Senior Vice President, The Mount Sinai Hospital.

Program iPads, preloaded with Patient Itinerary, provide access to patient education materials customized to the hospital’s sectors. They also provide entertainment apps, Facebook, e-newspapers, and more.

Patients can also access a survey to provide feedback to Mount Sinai based on their experience which is then used to further improve inpatient services.

“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,” added Chatani.