A video approach to interactive patient education

A quality improvement model presents the stages of designing and producing a preoperative videotape for improved patient satisfaction outcomes. PACU nurses formed an interdisciplinary team of providers and patients to update an existing preoperative sound/slide program into video. Improved patient outcomes were reflected in greater availability, accessibility, and consistency of preoperative instruction. A videotape program for home viewing was instituted to reach out to the surgical patient population served by the Albuquerque Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New Mexico. A quality improvement storyboard approach to videotape production met Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organization (JCAHO) standards for interactive patient education at a recent JCAHO survey. Preliminary evaluative data from patients supports a growing appeal of videos to patients and family members as an additional preoperative teaching strategy for adult surgical patients.