Using an inpatient portal to engage families in pediatric hospital care
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Published on: April 12, 2021
Michelle M Kelly1,2, Peter L T Hoonakker2, Shannon M Dean3
1Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin mkelly@pediatrics.wisc.edu.
Insights
Parents using an inpatient portal application on tablets were satisfied with its features, reporting improved care, better communication, and enhanced error detection for their hospitalized children.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Health Informatics
- Patient Engagement Technology
- Hospital Information Systems
Background:
- Inpatient portals offer a digital solution for parents to access crucial information regarding their child's hospital stay.
- Effective communication and information access are vital for parental involvement in pediatric care.
- Evaluating the utility and impact of these technologies is essential for optimizing their implementation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess parent utilization and perceptions of a tablet-based inpatient portal designed for pediatric hospitalizations.
- To understand how the portal influences parental engagement, information needs, and perceived quality of care.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving parents of children hospitalized in a tertiary children's hospital.
- Parents used a tablet portal application featuring real-time data, educational materials, and communication tools.
- Data collected via tablet metadata and post-discharge parent surveys analyzed using descriptive and qualitative methods.
Main Results:
- 296 parents utilized the portal, with features like vital signs, medication lists, and healthcare team information being highly favored.
- 90% of surveyed parents reported satisfaction, ease of use, and improved care, with 60% noting enhanced communication.
- 89% perceived reduced care errors, and 8% identified medication list discrepancies.
Conclusions:
- Inpatient portals demonstrate high parent satisfaction and ease of use in pediatric settings.
- These applications can significantly improve parental engagement, facilitate error identification, and enhance the perceived safety and quality of hospital care.
Objective:
Assess parent use and perceptions of an inpatient portal application on a tablet computer that provides information about a child's hospital stay.
Methods:
This cross-sectional study was conducted with parents of children hospitalized on a medical/surgical unit at a tertiary children's hospital. From December 2014 to June 2015, parents were provisioned a tablet portal application to use throughout the hospitalization. The portal includes real-time hospital vitals, medications, schedules, lab results, education, health care team pictures/roles, and request and messaging functionalities. Portal use information was gathered from tablet metadata. Parents completed discharge surveys on portal satisfaction, use, and impact on their information needs, engagement, communication, error detection, and care safety and quality. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis.
Results:
Over 6 months, 296 parents used the portal, sending 176 requests and 36 messages. No tablets were lost or damaged. The most used and liked features included vitals, medication list, health care team information, and schedules. Overall, parent survey respondents (90) were satisfied with the portal (90%), reporting that it was easy to use (98%), improved care (94%), and gave them access to information that helped them monitor, understand, make decisions, and care for their child. Many parents reported that portal use improved health care team communication (60%). Most perceived that portal use reduced errors in care (89%), with 8% finding errors in their child's medication list.
Conclusions:
Overall, parents were satisfied with the inpatient portal. Portals may engage parents in hospital care, facilitate parent recognition of medication errors, and improve perceptions of safety and quality.
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