As video technology becomes more affordable, hospitals are test-driving it to bolster patient relations and to reinforce a "cutting-edge" market position. While video communication has become firmly integrated into physician and nurse education efforts, the technology is expected to take off with patients. Two recently launched services, BabyPress-Conference.com and C-Phone, allow hospitals to provide patients a heightened level of connectivity with family and friends.
Four hospitals are beta-testing BabyPressConference.com, including Providence Everett Medical Center in Everett, Wash., Lehigh Valley Hospital in Bethlehem, Pa., Sentara Leigh Hospital in Norfolk, Va., and Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel, N.Y. The service, which uses streaming audio and video technology for online netcasts, allows hospitals to market maternity services in an interactive way. Shortly after giving birth, new moms can link with family and friends off-site to celebrate the experience.
For BabyPressConference.com to install the service, hospitals must provide a 100-square-foot area and high-speed Internet connectivity for its kiosk.
The kiosk holds the computer and camera necessary for holding the netcasts. Parents pre-register for the service by giving hospitals an email list of people they would like to invite to their password-protected netcast shortly after the birth. Invited viewers can interact with the new family by typing questions to the parents and hearing and watching the responses on their computer monitors. Viewers also can purchase gifts for the baby via the Web site's special Babies "R" Us gift registry. The service, which is offered free to parents, costs hospitals $14,500 and a monthly maintenance fee of $250 (for one kiosk).
For Sentara, the service was a key promotional component of the hospital's online Y2K marketing activities launched late-December. "It's a nice value-added opportunity for moms that enhances their stay at the hospital in an innovative way," says David Foreman, Sentara's communications consultant. The hospital is targeting expectant moms by promoting the service on its Web site (http://www.sentara.com), in a direct mail campaign that includes pre-admission forms and through point-of-service displays at physician offices and maternity classes. Sentara also will get national exposure when Baby-PressConference.com launches its consumer press campaign in February using the hospital's netcast footage for video and audio news releases.
At Lehigh Valley Hospital, the service was used by parents to communicate with relatives as far away as Italy, Saudi Arabia and Japan, says Marie Shaw, Lehigh's director of women's health. The hospital, which earlier this month announced the opening of its $52 million Fred Jaindl Family Pavilion, included the maternity service in its promotional activities. The pavilion houses the hospital's new Center for Mother and Baby Care.
Thousands of parents toured the new pavilion and were told about the BabyPressConference.com service. Next week, Lehigh will do a cross promotion with Babies "R" Us to market its "Mom and Baby Health Fair." The store is giving away a $1,000 shopping spree and a laptop computer will be set up to demonstrate the BabyPressConference.com netcasts.
Face-to-Face Communication
In addition to the feel-good perks of video communications, the technology also is being used to ease the stress of patients who have to endure lengthy hospital stays. Mount Sinai Hospital in New York is using the C-Phone video communications equipment for its "Face-to-Face" program.
The program, which uses a video telephone, allows families to interact with critically ill children who will be hospitalized at Mount Sinai's Pediatric Surgical Intensive Care and Step-Down units for longer than two weeks.
"For these children and their parents, the psychosocial benefits of this technology is invaluable because it connects the child to the family and home in a visceral way," says Diane Rode, Mount Sinai's director of the child life program.
The C-Phone technology is being funded with a $45,000 one-year grant that covers the cost of 20 phone sets. The phone sets are located at the patients' bedside and the video technology uses a camera piece that is mounted on a television set. For families who meet the criteria, the phone sets are available at no charge. So far, at least five families have used the service.
Mount Sinai is conducting formal and informal research on how the C-Phone technology affects patient care. Anecdotally, the technology has generated extremely positive patient feedback and has significantly helped both the child and parent to adapt to the hospital environment, says Rode.
This technology also is useful for monitoring the care of chronically ill patients who are at home. Here is where the cost-savings for hospitals are most dramatic, says Mike Lemnitzer, VP of Cyber Care, a third-party vendor that uses C-Phone technology. Hospitals can expect to shave 30% to 40% off the cost of caring for chronically ill patients in key areas like hospitalization, home care and emergency care.
This year, Lemnitzer expects this technology to more than double, generating interest from hospital systems in 25 states. Last year, Cyber Care worked with hospital systems in 10 states to incorporate the C-Phone technology into chronic care programs.
(BabyPressConference.com, Katherine Gebhardt, Richard Harte, 212/258-5303; Sentara Leigh Hospital, David Foreman, 757/455-5949; Lehigh Valley Hospital, Marie Shaw, 610/317-4825; C-Phone, Martha LeVasseur, 910/395-6100; Mount Sinai Hospital, Diane Rode, 212/241-8024)
BabyPressConference.com
Costs: $14,500 plus a $250 monthly maintenance fee (one kiosk).
Hospital needs: 100-square-foot area for kiosk, high-speed Internet connection.
PR opportunities: Media tours, point-of-service displays, online hotlinks,
supports a cutting edge market position.
C-Phone
(http://www.cphone.com)
Costs: $2,000-$4,000 (depending on configuration of C-Phone units,
leasing programs are also available.
Hospital needs: Television, phone line.
PR opportunities: Human-interest
media pitches that demonstrate a hospital's technological innovation, and efforts
to improve patient care.