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Charleston, SC 29425
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MUSC to install bedside information system
By Dick Peterson
MUSC Public Relations
Web development director Dave Bennett calls it an “interactive patient empowerment platform,” and it’s coming to the Medical University Hospital.
So what will it do? It will bring the Internet and communications technology to the patient’s bedside through the television system in the patient’s room. “It consists of three major components, the TV set in the patient’s room, a keyboard and a remote. And through this system we will be delivering a number of services,” Bennett said in a presentation during the Medical Center Town Hall Meeting Jan. 26.
Scheduled for phase-one roll-out in March, the Get Well Network—make that “getwell:)network” —will make MUSC the first hospital in the state to install a bedside information system and one of not all that many in country. In fact, Bennett says that only 20,000 beds nationwide are so-equipped.
“It’s an emerging technology that leverages technology to improve patient care and satisfaction.”
The system will allow the hospital to deliver patient education videos on demand to the patient’s bedside. “Our nurses, patient educators or physicians can actually prescribe video or other patient education content and drive it to the patient bedside,” Bennett said. “And we can also have interaction between the patient and that information and ultimately put that on the electronic medical record.”
He added that because the information is available on demand, it’s there for the patient when it’s convenient for the patient. “They can pause it, stop it, rewind —any of those sort of things.”
Entertainment
To offer patients an enjoyable stay in an MUSC hospital, while often here at less-than-enjoyable circumstances, Bennett acknowledged, the system will deliver selection from 30 premium movies. With the purchase of a $7 to $9 card, the patient can view as many movies as they care to in a 24-hour period. The platform can also deliver digital music, AM-FM radio, and virtually anything that is on the Web. It’s all available at the patient bedside.
February 4, 2005
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