MyPennMedicine, the Health System’s online health management tool, allows outpatients to complete a variety of health care needs — e.g., schedule an appointment, communicate with a provider, refill a prescription — from anywhere and all without a single phone call. It’s an easy, hassle-free way for patients to stay connected in their care.
In a similar vein, MyChart Bedside will give inpatients at the Pavilion — the new facility scheduled to open later this year — a better way to stay engaged with their care providers during their hospital stay. “So much is happening all around patients that they don’t understand,” said Poppy Bass, senior project manager. ”MyChart Bedside decreases the mystery of what’s going on by addressing things happening on the inpatient side.
Indeed, MyChart Bedside will be a one-stop “shop” for patients. Uploaded on to a hospital-owned iPad, the app will allow patients to easily access a variety of information specific to their care, such as:
- Happening Soon: A list of medications being given and tests happening that day so the patient knows what’s on the schedule.
- My Health: A dashboard of up-to-date information, including vital signs and results of some lab tests that the patient can understand.
- Taking Care of Me: Photos of each member of the treatment team with a description of their role in the patient’s care.
- To Learn: Patient friendly educational materials that a nurse can suggest to help educate patients on their conditions and facilitate conversations, which patients can read when they are able to.
Other features include a place for the patient to jot down notes, sign consent forms, and access to additional resources (such as OncoLink).
MyChart Bedside, which will be a free service, will also include an “entertainment” component with a variety of options, including access to social media sites, video meeting links, games, Amazon Kindle and music sites.
A Focus on Patient Needs
Inpatients who are “clinically appropriate” will receive the iPad with MyChart Bedside when they arrive on the unit, although they can decline, Bass said. A specific person on each unit will instruct the patient in its use and be available for any questions or issues that come up. To keep the information secure, the patient will be asked to create a passcode that can be shared with individuals they deem necessary. Once the patient is discharged, a data wipe program will remove all of the patient’s information and return the iPad to factory settings. The iPad will not function if removed from the hospital.
To ensure that the app best meets the needs of patients, Bass brought two members of HUP’s Patient and Family Advisory Council (PFAC) — Anita McGinn-Natali and Teya Sepinuck — on board early in the process. Both took an active role in making sure the app was easy to use and contained information that patients consider important. “MyChart Bedside is not to replace people. It’s to enhance the patient experience in the hospital,” Natali said. “When you’re in the hospital, you feel you’re at the mercy of everyone around you. This gives you some control.”
“PFAC members were a key part of the development, build and design. They told us what’s important to patients, through their lens,” Bass said. “We can sit in an office and come up with all kinds of ideas but did we ever ask the patient? I can’t begin to tell you how important it was to have real patients involved in any decision-making.”
Bass is currently running a pilot with MyChart Bedside on Rhoads 6 and Founders 10, not only to identify and resolve any issues that might emerge from use but also to get feedback and recommendations from patients and staff. “We want MyChart Bedside to bring a transparency to a patient’s stay in the hospital,” she said, “making them part of the team and involved in their care.”