Expanding education technology to meet the needs of patients, families, and clinicians

With the patient length of hospital stay continuously decreasing, health educators and nurses are continually challenged to adequately educate patients prior to discharge. Health education is recognized as a key component for reducing readmission rates by increasing patient compliance, yet health education resources must be readily accessible to patients throughout the entire hospital experience in order to achieve fulfillment. The Center for Consumer Health Information at Cleveland Clinic examined the existing in-hospital delivery systems in order to identify a means to reach patients at all access points in the health care process. This article demonstrates how a closed circuit television system may be utilized to deliver health education content to individuals in both in-patient and out-patient settings. The evaluation of vendors and identification of internal resources is imperative to the successful implementation of an in-patient education system.