LodgeNet Healthcare Releases Enhanced Assigned Education Application to Promote Patient Compliance and Reduce Readmissions

SIOUX FALLS, S.D., Feb. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- LodgeNet Healthcare, the leader in interactive patient engagement solutions, today announced the release of its enhanced Assigned Education application, which enables nurses to assign personalized patient video education based on diagnoses and medication treatment plans. The solution – which leverages the television in the patient room – provides critical information about a patient's illness, medication and discharge instructions in a video format that drives comprehension.

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"Education delivery is a critical piece of our interactive TV platform, and this application has been designed to make nurses more efficient while improving the education experience," said Gary Kolbeck, General Manager of LodgeNet Healthcare. "By implementing video education over traditional printed content alone, comprehension has been shown to increase by as much as 55%. For this reason, we are confident our solution will improve the delivery of patient education and positively impact outcomes."

LodgeNet Healthcare's Assigned Education includes the ability to test a patient's comprehension with real-time alerts that notify staff of deficiencies. The fully integrated application can also chart viewing and comprehension directly to a patient's medical record. "This app was developed in an effort to ensure patients have the information they need to properly care for themselves post-discharge," said Kolbeck. "The goal is to engage patients to improve outcomes and ultimately reduce readmissions, which benefits both patients and hospitals alike."

Recent healthcare reform is requiring hospitals to deliver more with less, without sacrificing quality. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, have established patient and family engagement as a core component of healthcare transformation. The laws, which will be implemented through rules adopted by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), outline a number of goals for hospitals relating to patient care, which include patient education and patient engagement. The collective goal of these efforts is to transform the patient-caregiver interaction to drive better outcomes while reducing the costs of providing quality care through technology. Realizing this goal will require:

• Dissemination of information to patients about their care, their care options, and their ability to influence the direction and nature of their care. This encompasses more than the mere requirement of "access" to information; it requires an affirmative effort to place information into the hands of patients in a format they can understand.
• Effective patient education tailored to the needs of individual patients, with due attention to relevant demographic and socio-cultural considerations. "Effective" education will require well-designed and understandable educational materials delivered at the most useful time, and in the most accessible form, during the treatment process.
• Adopting a treatment atmosphere that stimulates and encourages patient interaction and engagement across the continuum of care.
• Defining outcome success by reference to each patient's needs and objectives. Every patient has unique illnesses and learning styles, requiring a personalized care plan to properly engage patients and empower them to be in control of their healthcare decisions.

Meeting the above goals will require hospitals to consider companies like LodgeNet who understand the complexities associated with integrating content and delivering it in a useful, consumer friendly way. With over 30 years experience, LodgeNet today is actively helping hospitals and healthcare providers get patients involved in their care. "Hospitals are consumed with Information Technology initiatives and re-thinking how they will deliver care in the future. We are using our proven technology to leverage those efforts to simultaneously deliver patient data right to the bedside," explained Kolbeck. "As hospitals strive to implement EHR systems, it's important not to lose sight of the patient's role in their care, and the interactive television solution we've developed does this in an easy-to-use, effective fashion that complements the EHR initiatives. There is no tool better positioned to engage patients across the continuum of care."  

About LodgeNet Interactive

LodgeNet Interactive Corporation is the leading provider of media and connectivity solutions designed to meet the unique needs of hospitality, healthcare and other guest-based businesses. LodgeNet Interactive serves approximately 1.8 million hotel rooms worldwide in addition to healthcare facilities throughout the United States. The Company's services include: Interactive Television Solutions, Broadband Internet Solutions, Content Solutions, Professional Solutions and Advertising Media Solutions. LodgeNet Interactive Corporation owns and operates businesses under the industry leading brands: LodgeNet, LodgeNetRX, and The Hotel Networks. LodgeNet Interactive is listed on NASDAQ and trades under the symbol LNET. For more information, please visit www.lodgenet.com.

LodgeNet is a registered trademark of LodgeNet Interactive Corporation.  Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 

SOURCE LodgeNet Interactive Corporation