When is the last time you or a family member stayed in the hospital overnight?  Hopefully, the answer is "quite some time ago".  Unfortunately, for me, my father is in his late sixties and was recently hospitalized for 7 nights due to cold sweats and bouts of dizziness.  When I heard the symptoms, I immediately knew there was something wrong relative to his heart.  After a few days of testing, the cardiologist determined he had a condition known as A-Fib.  More than 2 million people in the United States have atrial fibrillation, making it a very common heart rhythm disorder. Although it isn't life threatening, A Fib can lead to other rhythm problems, chronic fatigue and congestive heart failure. Chances of having a stroke are five times higher for those with A Fib.

Let's take a step back.  My father is your typical late sixties individual who doesn't have any medical knowledge and has not embraced technology.  He just started using a cell phone (sparingly) last year.  I can just picture a cardiologist trying to explain A-Fib to my father at the bedside.  It goes something like this:

Cardiologist: “In A Fib, the heartbeat is irregular and rapid, sometimes beating as often as 300 times a minute in the upper chambers (atria) and 100-150 times a minute in the lower chambers (ventricles).”

Dad: “Uh-huh”

Cardiologist: “During an episode of A Fib or AFL, the heart muscle does not contract normally to force open the heart valves that pass blood from the atrium to the ventricle. The valve opens passively, but some blood may not enter the ventricle as it should. Instead, it pools in parts of the atrium, increasing the risk that clots will form in the stagnant blood. ”

Dad: “Yep”

Cardiologist: “Even small blood clots can cause problems if they leave the heart

and are released into the general circulation. They may clog arteries in the body and disrupt the blood supply to vital organs.”

Dad: “Gotcha”

The cardiologist walks out of the room and my father is glossed over.

Let’s head back to the hospital where my father was a patient. Once the condition was identified, the care team gave my father a list of different programs that he had to watch on the TV. These programs were ordered “on demand” using the telephone. The programs ranged from a simple graphical representation of what A-Fib looks like to educating my father on what to expect and healthier habits when he went home. My father loved explaining to me everything about A-Fib and what he was going to do when he was discharged. He even showed me how the system worked. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that the system should be delivered via a computer dashboard. All in all, this hospital provided a better experience through automated delivery of patient education more so than MOST hospitals in this country.

My father was discharged feeling educated about his condition and with little doubt what he needed to do. This is a very comfortable feeling for someone who otherwise would be walking on eggshells not knowing the full story of A-Fib.

Microsoft technologies, including the XBOX and Media Center, are being used in state of the art patient experience and education applications. Arkansas Children’s rolled out an internally developed system to over 250 beds with tremendous feedback while using commercialized components to allow less stress on the budget. Take a look at the video:

Microsoft and Cerner partnered to take the success at Children’s and standardize the offering to hospitals around the country. Spectrum Health has rolled out the solution to a number of rooms and is receiving praise from their patients and local press.

The moral of the story: Picture yourself or a family member staying in the hospital and ask yourself: What would make my stay more enjoyable and improve my chances for better health? The answer can typically lead to a good conversation to have with the hospital’s clinical and IT leaders.