Lea Hackmann, Director of Product Management at GetWellNetwork, talked to Patient Education Update about on-demand technology in the hospital setting.

PEU: How did GetWellNetwork get involved in on-demand technology?

Hackmann: Our founder and CEO, Michael O’Neil, was a cancer patient several years ago at Johns Hopkins University. While he was there, going through that ordeal, he realized just how un-connected he was from the entire process and his own life outside the hospital. This drove him to create a more connected environment for patients and improve the whole experience to the benefit of the patient. 

PEU: How does on-demand technology work for the patients?

Hackmann: The patient uses their TV and remote control or keyboard.  They can access anything that is in the patient menu such as patient videos, movies, the Internet, surveys, games and other information available at the hospital.

PEU: How does your system work with patient education?

Hickman: We do not provide content, but work with each hospital to find what type of education each patient should receive. Because we are integrated with the hospital’s admission, discharge and transfer system, patients can be prompted to watch specific videos regarding their condition.

PEU: How does that work?

Hackmann: A message will pop up on the screen that says your caregiver would like you to watch such and such video. Then they get a prompt like “Would you like to watch this video now?” or whatever the hospital would like the system to say. Then the patient can say yes and watch the video.  The hospital also has the choice to put a quiz at the end of the video. 

PEU: How cooperative are patients?  If they get the prompt, do they have to watch the video?

Hackmann: They do have the choice not to watch at that time, but for the most part they do respond. It really pulls the patient into the experience. With everything else going on in their life right then, this actually prompts the patient through the pathway that is set for them. It can actually be set to re-prompt them again two hours later. In fact it can ultimately force the patient to watch it. But that’s all up to the hospital and how they want to handle that. The system does really help get compliance.

PEU: So is there documentation of viewing and documentation of their responses if there is a post-test?

Hackmann: Absolutely. Once the patient has watched a program, we record it within our own documentation system that the nurses or staff can access at any time. For those hospitals that have their own documentation system, we can also provide documentation seamlessly.  

PEU: Is the staff told that the patient has watched a program so they can talk about it with them?

Hackmann: Yes. If they have a post-test at the end of the video, and some questions have been answered incorrectly, a notification system can inform the nurse taking care of that particular patient that they responded to that question incorrectly and need additional education. Some find that they don’t want to take advantage of that and others find it quite helpful for regulatory compliance.  And regulatory compliance is the driving factor for integration with the documentation system.

PEU: So what else can a patient get beside patient education regarding healthcare issues?

Hackmann: They can look up information on their medications and patient safety which is a very big initiative in hospitals these days.

PEU: Can that help with JCAHO compliance?

Hackmann: The hospital can customize the patient pathway. Three hours after admission, the patient can be prompted to watch the patient safety video and we can document it. They can also be given a welcoming message, a tour of the hospital, and information on pain management too.

PEU: How is pain management handled?

Hackmann: Pain management is treated in a couple of different ways. As education, what the pain management alternatives are, what they can do to control their pain.  We also offer pain assessment, which can be included in the pathway.  This would integrate with whatever method they use for their medications dispensing. For example two hours after pain medications have been dispensed, a message would pop up on the screen for an assessment so they can rate their level of pain. That is sent back into the documentation system and it triggers a response, such as paging the nurse on duty.

PEU: Do you see hospitals using non-traditional educational content?

Hackmann: We have had requests from some of our hospitals to provide relaxation, guided imagery, and spiritual content. That is sort of new, and a lot of our hospitals are using that kind of material to create a better atmosphere for the patient. 

PEU: Can you give an example of how this system helps the staff save time?

Hackmann: We have instant response prompts. If a patient has a concern, say that the room is being kept too hot for them, they can just click on it instead of using a nurse call button. It will send an alert message to the appropriate department. That’s a time saver for the nurse.

PEU: What other some other benefits?

Hackmann: For example, we’re able to post a patient handbook, right on the system. The Joint Commission requires that patients have access to that information. So we’re able to satisfy Joint Commission standards and save marketing a lot of money in printing costs.

PEU: What if something goes wrong?  How does that work?

Hackmann: For those hospitals that have an account manager on staff, that is the person that staff are prompted to call. We also have a 24/7 call center you’re able to call at any time for technical assistance.  We do however recommend that the nurses and staff are oriented to the system so that they know about it and how to make changes if need be. 

PEU: If a problem can’t be resolved, what happens next?

Hackmann: If the hospital has an account manager, they would be the first point of contact to try and resolve the problem. There are a lot of things we can do to the system remotely. A lot of times, we can actually fix it that way. We also have a regional field engineer who would be sent out to fix it. But the majority of the issues are things like “the remote got lost” or “we can’t find the keyboard,” things like that.

PEU: Why do only 10% of the hospitals in the US have on-demand systems?

Hackmann: That sounds a little high to me. Obviously we certainly believe every hospital should have this. I think that it takes time, as you probably know, to work on strategic plans for hospitals. So I think it’s a matter of time, but we certainly believe that regardless of size it has certainly been a hit for those who have it.

PEU: What do you think is holding people back? Is it money?

Hackmann: It’s a number of things. It’s hard to say what a market the size of the US healthcare market is feeling, but certainly there are money and staffing implications. There are other competing priorities that may have nothing to do with this. Certainly things like JACHO compliance and other issues are getting people’s attention. If a system like ours can help with that, which ours does, that certainly makes the conversation a lot easier.  Those hospitals that are looking for competitive distinction around patient care, certainly see it as a very good added value for their patients. So it really just depends on the size of the hospital, what their priorities are, and what’s holding them back.

PEU: What do you find usually is your biggest battle with getting someone on board?  Is it a hard sell to the administration or not, and is that changing?

Hackmann: It’s generally not a hard sell as more and more people have heard about something like this. Several years ago it was such a new thing, you may have only seen on-demand technology in hotels. But what you see in a hotel isn’t even half of what the system provides and what the ultimate value is, especially impacting the entire process of patient care.

PEU: Like in hotels, will on-demand become a universal fixture in hospitals?

Hackmann: Newer hospitals are coming on board, and more and more hospitals that are catering to the baby boomer generation are too. I think these people are very brand conscious and are very aware of service levels when they go to the hospital. Hospitals are seeing that a system like ours can help them address those raised expectations

PEU: What kind of financial commitment is there to get something like this going? 

Hackmann: It’s difficult to talk about pricing in a general sense, but our pricing is based on the number of beds in a hospital, for both the software component as well as the hardware and account management.

PEU: Visiting your Web site, I noticed these things; patient resource suite, patient communication suite, and patient care suite. What is all that about?

Hackmann: Our patient life system is comprised of three parts, you just named them, and that gives our client the ability to focus in on what functions they want to offer. They might want to license all three suites at once, but if they only want to provide, say, educational resources, we’re able to do just that in the patient care suite.

PEU: What do you see in the future for this type of technology, anything new that would change things?

Hackmann: We’re looking at every way possible to impact patient care. Because the patient is not just in a hospital bed, we can see this having an affect before the hospital stay, certainly post hospital at home, at the pharmacy, or at the doctor’s office, wherever the patient might be. We see that we can bring value to that experience.

PEU: How would you summarize the impact of a system like yours for the hospital?

Hackmann: I think there are a lot of areas the hospital sees a lot of activity in. It gives the nursing staff and others additional ways to communicate to the patient.  On the regulatory side, it certainly helps ease regulatory compliance efforts, which can take a lot of time. To be able to cut that by a sizable margin is very attractive for hospitals. They really value that. Anytime you can eliminate the administrative and documentation side of things and allow people to focus on their primary responsibility, which is clinical care, I think they see a tremendous benefit. Also allowing nurses to have happier patients that can be informed, entertained, and relaxed helps them as well.

PEU: How would you summarize the impact of a system like yours for the patient?

Hackmann: Clearly, the patient benefit is evident, just in the way that they can learn more about what they are there for, watch movies, and even shop on-line if they want to. At Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, a patient did all her Christmas shopping through the system. She was there for an asthma treatment, not some life threatening treatment. She was concerned that she wouldn’t be able to get her Christmas shopping done. It just made her life a little easier. It shows patients that the hospital remembers that they have a life outside of the hospital. It also helps not just patients but also their family members and visitors. Remember that they also have access to it. Another example is one hospital in Florida, wanted a way to offer meals in the patient’s room to visitors. Maybe they’re taking care of a child, or a very sick family member.

PEU: If educators really want their hospital to get on the ball with this thing, what can they do to raise awareness and move things forward?

Hackmann: They need to focus on a few things, one being regulatory compliance. We’re able to help with that, through documenting that a patient has viewed educational material at a certain point in their stay. We’re able to deliver education to a patient at a critical time in their care with little or no difficulty by streamlining that process.

PEU: What else can they do?

Hackmann: Partnering with the nursing leadership we always found to be very effective. You have the content people and you have the people on the floor interacting with patients day to day. If they work together, it really does have an impact. Those two groups of people working together are very, very important.

PEU: Any final thoughts?

Hackmann: I would reiterate that our focus is on outcomes. The idea is that education can deliver a positive outcome whether it is to reduce admission rates, re-admission rates or other issues like that because the patient is more informed and is better able to take care of themselves once they leave the hospital. This has a very significant financial impact at the hospital, long term.

If you'd like to contact Lea Hackmann, she can be reached at (877) 633-8496 or by e-mail at lhackmann@getwellnetwork.com.