TY - JOUR
T1 - A patient-centered information system (myED) for emergency care journeys
T2 - design, development, and initial adoption
AU - Westphal, Monika
AU - Yom-Tov, Galit Bracha
AU - Parush, Avi
AU - Carmeli, Nitzan
AU - Shaulov, Alina
AU - Shapira, Chen
AU - Rafaeli, Anat
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
©Monika Westphal, Galit Bracha Yom-Tov, Avi Parush, Nitzan Carmeli, Alina Shaulov, Chen Shapira, Anat Rafaeli.
PY - 2020/2/1
Y1 - 2020/2/1
N2 - Background: Medical care is highly complex in that it addresses patient-centered health goals that require the coordination of multiple care providers. Emergency department (ED) patients currently lack a sense of predictability about ED procedures. This increases frustration and aggression. Herein, we describe a system for providing real-time information to ED patients regarding the procedures in their ED medical journey. Objective: This study aimed to develop a system that provides patients with dynamically updated information about the specific procedures and expected waiting times in their personal ED journey, and to report initial evaluations of this system. Methods: To develop the myED system, we extracted information from hospital databases and translated it using process mining and user interface design into a language that is accessible and comprehensible to patients. We evaluated the system using a mixed methods approach that combined observations, interviews, and online records. Results: Interviews with patients, accompanying family members, and health care providers (HCPs) confirmed patients’ needs for information about their personal ED journey. The system developed enables patients to access this information on their personal mobile phones through a responsive website. In the third month after deployment, 492 of 1614 (30.48%) patients used myED. Patients’ understanding of their ED journey improved significantly (F8,299=2.519; P=.01), and patients showed positive reactions to the system. We identified future challenges, including achieving quick engagement without delaying medical care. Salient reasons for poor system adoption were patients’ medical state and technological illiteracy. HCPs confirmed the potential of myED and identified means that could improve patient experience and staff cooperation. Conclusions: Our iterative work with ED patients, HCPs, and a multidisciplinary team of developers yielded a system that provides personal information to patients about their ED journey in a secure, effective, and user-friendly way. MyED communicates this information through mobile technology. This improves health care by addressing patients’ psychological needs for information and understanding, which are often overlooked. We continue to test and refine the system and expect to find positive effects of myED on patients’ ED experience and hospital operations.
AB - Background: Medical care is highly complex in that it addresses patient-centered health goals that require the coordination of multiple care providers. Emergency department (ED) patients currently lack a sense of predictability about ED procedures. This increases frustration and aggression. Herein, we describe a system for providing real-time information to ED patients regarding the procedures in their ED medical journey. Objective: This study aimed to develop a system that provides patients with dynamically updated information about the specific procedures and expected waiting times in their personal ED journey, and to report initial evaluations of this system. Methods: To develop the myED system, we extracted information from hospital databases and translated it using process mining and user interface design into a language that is accessible and comprehensible to patients. We evaluated the system using a mixed methods approach that combined observations, interviews, and online records. Results: Interviews with patients, accompanying family members, and health care providers (HCPs) confirmed patients’ needs for information about their personal ED journey. The system developed enables patients to access this information on their personal mobile phones through a responsive website. In the third month after deployment, 492 of 1614 (30.48%) patients used myED. Patients’ understanding of their ED journey improved significantly (F8,299=2.519; P=.01), and patients showed positive reactions to the system. We identified future challenges, including achieving quick engagement without delaying medical care. Salient reasons for poor system adoption were patients’ medical state and technological illiteracy. HCPs confirmed the potential of myED and identified means that could improve patient experience and staff cooperation. Conclusions: Our iterative work with ED patients, HCPs, and a multidisciplinary team of developers yielded a system that provides personal information to patients about their ED journey in a secure, effective, and user-friendly way. MyED communicates this information through mobile technology. This improves health care by addressing patients’ psychological needs for information and understanding, which are often overlooked. We continue to test and refine the system and expect to find positive effects of myED on patients’ ED experience and hospital operations.
KW - Access to information
KW - Electronic patient-provider communication
KW - Medical records
KW - Patient participation
KW - Technology
KW - User-centered design
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85096848841&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2196/16410
DO - 10.2196/16410
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85096848841
SN - 2561-326X
VL - 4
JO - JMIR Formative Research
JF - JMIR Formative Research
IS - 2
M1 - e16410
ER -