St. Elizabeth's Hospital issued the following announcement on Feb. 21.
HSHS St. Elizabeth’s Hospital recently began offering a mobile messaging app for direct clinician-to-family status updates. The EASE app is able to send real-time updates to family members while their loved one is in surgery, the Cardiac Cath Lab or Intensive Care Unit (ICU). EASE is a one-of-a-kind mobile messaging app that is HIPAA compliant. It is available in both the Google Play and the iTunes App Store.
Patients identify which family members should receive the updates and then a code is provided to those individuals so they can receive the updates after downloading the app. Family members do not even have to be within the hospital walls to receive updates. So far, nearly 150 patient families across 16 states have received updates on their loved ones receiving care at St. Elizabeth’s.
“By using the EASE app at St. Elizabeth’s, we can improve communication with families and enhance their experience while they anxiously wait for loved ones who are in surgery or in the ICU,” said St. Elizabeth’s President and CEO Patti Fischer. “The feedback so far has been overwhelmingly positive and we look forward to expanding areas of use in the future.”
The EASE app enhances patient experience, increases transparency and improves hospital communication. EASE has been proven to significantly increase patient satisfaction and workflow for health care providers. In a recent study, conducted by EASE, of more than 4,500 families nationwide, 99 percent responded that the app reduced their anxiety.
Dorothy Gamblin’s husband recently had surgery at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, performed by Dr. Deirdre Hart of Lincoln Surgical Associates, and she appreciated the availability of this new tool.
“The Ease app was wonderful, very easy to use and to understand,” Gamblin said. “I really appreciated the close contact with my husband’s care team throughout his procedure and recovery.”
“St. Elizabeth’s new EASE app is an excellent addition to help our surgical teams keep families up to date on their loved one’s status, no matter if they are in the surgery waiting room or in another state,” said Dr. Hart. “Before the EASE app, we were typically able to give family members updates once the surgery was complete, but now if there is an update that we would like to send to the family, we can do so immediately without leaving the surgical suite.”
For more information on EASE app, visit www.steliz.org/EASEapp.
Original source can be found here.
Source: St. Elizabeth's Hospital
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