IT System Empower Patients to Participate in Their Own Care

An interactive system provides patients with bedside customized health information, education, and services, enhancing the patient care continuum for healthcare professionals, patients, and their families.

The Skylight Access system allows direct access to disease- and condition-specific health information, connection to patient support departments, and a real-time feedback forum that allows the healthcare provider to solicit patient feedback and make available immediate service recovery to address patient issues. Patients also enjoy high-speed Internet, e-mail, and other entertainment options including popular movies, music, and games.

Typical results from hospitals using the Skylight Access system have shown that after launch and deployment, overall patient satisfaction scores rise by 8%, while patient satisfaction with health education offerings increased by as much as 42%. Other results include quicker access to patient education sessions--reduced from 15 minutes to 3 minutes, which dramatically increases the time clinicians can provide care directly at the patient bedside. The real-time feedback and service alert functionality gives hospitals the benefit of immediately identifying and responding to patient satisfaction priorities, which also dramatically reduces the level of non-clinical ‘call light' volume.

The Skylight Access system uses device-neutral technology, enabling hospitals to leverage existing televisions, flat-panels, swing arms, or other in-room display device. All content and communication pathways are delivered over a stand-alone data cable network, which is installed along with digital connections in every patient room. Other features include extensive remote maintenance capabilities, continuous remote monitoring of system performance, remote reboot functionality, and a fully redundant system, which provides TV failover mode in the event of a network failure. The Skylight Access system is a product of Skylight Healthcare Systems (San Diego, CA, USA).

"We realize that a hospital stay can oftentimes be stressful for patients and their families, and the implementation of the Skylight system is one way for us to help alleviate patient anxiety during an anxious time in their lives,” said Samuel H. Turner, Sr., president and CEO of Shawnee Mission Medical Center (SMMC; Shawnee Mission, KS, USA), which recently installed the system in a 383-bed facility. "By offering immediate access to education, entertainment, and communication venues, we hope patients and their families will become our partners in care so that we can together achieve the best results possible.”

Related Links:
Skylight Healthcare Systems
Shawnee Mission Medical Center