Healthcare - Discharge instructions
When a patient is ready to leave the hospital, he or she will receive discharge instructions. The enormous amount of information the patient will receive during this meeting is of utter importance for further recovery. Information includes background material on the disease as well as diet advice, health exercises and guidelines for medication intake. It is clear that many patients, often elderly and in a poor condition, are not able to successfully absorb and process this information.
Challenges
Launching a tool for elderly people brings some new challenges to be tackled.
- Most often little to no experience with technology.
- Trouble reading text from short distance.
- Aversion for technology telling them what to do as well as a 'Big Brother' effect.
Motivational "e-nurse"
A 'digital version' of the patients nurse is the connection between the tablet and the hospital. It will remind patients of their daily tasks and try to motivate them to improve their daily lifestyle. The information can be personalized for the specific patient which will result in a better recovery.
Three key issue areas
- Reluctant to change lifestyle
- Feeling of insecurity
- Consistent medicine intake
The solution
By providing these patients with their own personal tablet they are able to comprehend information much better. It gives the patients the option to go through the information with their family at a later time and in the comfort of their own home. Because the information is presented on a tablet device, new ways of providing information can be used. By using video and audio the recall of information at a later time is increased significantly.