Centra Health and TeleHealth Services Partner to Launch Enterprise Interactive Patient Education for Patient Satisfaction and Safety

Lynchburg, Va. and Raleigh, N.C., Feb. 2 , 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- TeleHealth Services, the nation's leading provider of healthcare-grade televisions and interactive patient education solutions, today announced that it has partnered with Centra Health (Centra) to deploy the TIGR interactive patient education system across the health system's acute care facilities. Centra is a technology driven, award-winning health system with state-of-the-art hospitals and health center facilities well known nationwide for their excellence in clinical and patient care. The partnership is focused on developing resources to transform patient care at Centra Lynchburg General and Centra Virginia Baptist Hospitals. In a campaign to motivate patient involvement in their recovery and educating patients about their role in the process, Centra has integrated the system across 1060 beds in the system as well as interoperability with their McKesson EMR system.

Looking to enhance its facility technology services and overall patient experience, Centra embarked on a detailed search process for a new interactive patient care system provider. After comparing providers, Centra chose TeleHealth Services for offering the only enterprise platform that could be deployed across the system, while providing a three-tiered integrated solution for future expansion of the system. TeleHealth Services' reputation of providing leading support and flexible financing options also played a big role in the decision. TIGR's unique communication system will allow clinicians and staff to provide 24x7 access to condition-specific educational content as well as important patient safety information and other hospital messaging. Centra's integrated strategy for patient engagement involves both patient education and entertainment.

"A technology based strategy for patient engagement enabled us to seamlessly blend our fantastic clinical resources with interactivity at the point of care," said Roberta Vick, Director of Professional Nursing Development at Centra Health. "TeleHealth's comprehensive and flexible digital platform allows for buy-in and investment from both the caregiver and the patient. TIGR's integration with other hospital technologies adds transparency to the hospital stay from a patient perspective and keeps them informed and engaged in their care. The overall goal of any clinician employing a new layer to an educational initiative is to provide evidence-based information to improve patient outcomes. Using interactivity in the healthcare decision-making process promotes an effective treatment option for our community."

TeleHealth was also impressive in staffing internal development professionals to architect a bi-directional interface with Centra EMR system for clinical workflow efficiencies and the ability to document the educational session to the patient's health record. TeleHealth provided a full entertainment and education solution consisting of the TIGR system, Samsung healthcare televisions, and Gen 4 direct access pillow speakers. The package was designed to deliver the familiar comforts and amenities of home, while making patients active participants in their own recovery. "TIGR's value as a foundational technology that is customizable to meet changing healthcare requirements and government incentives in a manner that simultaneously furthers complementary business objectives was key in our decision," said Vick.

As the nation's leading interactive patient education solution, TIGR enables hospitals to improve the patient experience while increasing the value, quality and service of healthcare delivery. TIGR's enterprise system value is to provide a patient-centered technology, providing coordinated and consistent care across the whole health system to aid in improving the quality of care and the patient experience. TIGR simplifies education delivery while providing automated service recovery for systems to proactively respond to patient feedback. These process improvements and system engineering principles enhance outcomes, ensure safety and increase patient satisfaction across the system's footprint.

In addition, clinicians will be able to prescribe patient education curriculums, track patients' comprehension of content and automatically transcribe the educational session into the patient's record through integration with the facility's EMR system. This functionality, along with the increased patient entertainment options, will aid Centra in increasing CMS reimbursements and improving patient outcomes. 

"The goal of this collaborative project between Centra and TeleHealth is to improve care for patients by using a proven, evidence-based system to facilitate communication and aid in providing consistent care across the system," said Dan Nathan, General Manager of TeleHealth Services. "Centra Health is one of the most forward-thinking healthcare organizations in the country, and we are honored to be providing TIGR as a part of the initiative to ensure their patients receive the finest services across the continuum of care. Our interactive suite of products is the only enterprise-class comprehensive solution for hospital systems and their affiliated providers. Patient engagement is a top priority in healthcare, and TeleHealth continues to lead the way by delivering solutions that can help healthcare providers easily and quickly achieve their goals. TIGR's broad solution's portfolio offers hospitals the tools they need to lower costs and provide consistent care practices."

About Centra Health:
Centra Health (Centra), a nonprofit healthcare system, was founded in December 1986 through the merger of Lynchburg General-Marshall Lodge Hospital (LGH) and Virginia Baptist Hospital (VBH). Southside Community Hospital (SCH) in Farmville joined in January 2006, as an affiliate.
Today, Centra includes 6,000 employees, a medical staff of 490, Centra Lynchburg General Hospital, Centra Virginia Baptist Hospital and Centra Southside Community Hospital, health and rehabilitation centers, a regional cancer center and physician practices serving an area from Bedford to Farmville and from Nelson County to Danville. In addition, Centra's services include residential and outpatient mental health facilities, home health and hospice programs, mammography centers, a sleep disorders center and a center for wound care and hyperbaric medicine. A 27-member Board of Directors representing a cross section of the community governs Centra. The board includes eight physicians.

About TeleHealth Services:
With more than 2,500 healthcare clients across the country, TeleHealth Services is the nation's leading provider of integrated technology and communications solutions for the healthcare market. Combining 50+ years of healthcare expertise and partnerships with industry leading manufacturers, TeleHealth Services is uniquely positioned to offer a full suite of hospital technology solutions that includes:

• Interactive patient and staff education platforms
• Healthcare-grade televisions and accessories
• Patient protection and security systems
• Bedside patient entertainment solutions
• The latest educational and entertainment content
• Custom designed communication systems
• Comprehensive design, implementation, and service packages
• Flexible financing solutions

Headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., TeleHealth Services is a division of Telerent Leasing Corporation. Telerent, founded in 1957, operates as a subsidiary of ITOCHU International, Inc. For more information on TeleHealth, call 877-432-9076, or visit at http://www.telehealth.com/.

SOURCE TeleHealth Services