While Spaeth is well known for promoting the benefits of video-enabled communication, the healthcare industry is on the cusp of an exciting change that will not only improve outcomes, but increase patient satisfaction. What is the magic solution you might ask? The Wall Street Journal captured it perfectly in Lucette Lagnado’s recent article titled “What Patients Need to Remember After Leaving the Hospital: New tools help patients retain critical information to continue the healing process once they get home.” This article is a must-read for anyone and everyone because the need is universal. We are all patients at one time or another.
Advancements in video-enabled communication allow the physician to walk the patient through an upcoming or completed procedure. The tour can be robust and include actual scans of the patient’s particular ailment. The videos by design are shareable and easily accessible. Discharge nurses are creating video discharge instructions and so far the biggest learning curve is ensuring that the patient receives a tutorial on how to access the video prior to leaving the hospital.
I recently survived my first and hopefully last root canal. My extremely knowledgeable and capable endodontist thoroughly explained the procedure, followed by my discharge instructions detailing exactly what shape my tooth was in, so what was the problem? I could barely remember one thing about the tooth’s condition, mere minutes after my discharge. If I felt that way following a routine root canal, imagine what patients going through cancer treatments or following surgery are tasked with recalling. We can all agree that video-enabled communication is an innovation all patients can endorse.
My prediction for 2016 is that this innovative use of video-enabled communication will continue to grow. In fact, there’s even “an app for that,” called “Good to Go,” featured in the article. Excuse the pun, but this type of advancement is a “no brainer,” and if I were having brain surgery, I can guarantee that I would want this type of advanced communication and technology at my disposal. Wouldn’t you?
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