Digital Patient Engagement Technology Addresses Gap for Pediatric Patients and Caregivers

THE CHALLENGE

As one of the nation’s leading pediatric specialty care providers, this children’s hospital provides best-in-class care for the children and families it serves. Still, its standard health information technology tools failed to meet pediatric patients’ communication and education needs. Pediatricians frequently reported functionality gaps in the patient portals and other patient-facing tools. Parents, guardians, and caregivers of infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) provided feedback that the communication and education they received needed to be improved. The organization sought to provide access to equitable, patient-centered communication.

THE PROJECT

The organization elected to use Twistle^® Patient Engagement by Health Catalyst, due to its ease of use and universal accessibility, to educate the parents and guardians of infants admitted to the NICU. The Twistle solution doesn’t require a robust data plan or specific smartphone, is available asynchronously, and allows multiple parents, guardians, and caregivers to respond and participate—a feature the care team said was critical to support patients effectively. The Twistle pathway includes education about prematurity, safe sleep, safety guidelines, orientation to the logistics and daily experience of being in the NICU, and infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Some infants spend many weeks in the NICU, requiring ongoing education throughout the stay to support the infant, parents, and guardians. New education topics are assigned as needed, providing ongoing educational support and ensuring readiness for safe discharge.

THE RESULT

Using the Twistle solution, the children’s hospital effectively addressed an unmet patient need. On average, the first 120 people on the admission pathway opened the message within 1.5 minutes. The ability to include multiple caregivers, in addition to parents and guardians, provides a more integrated and sustainable model and is more reflective and supportive of the patients and families served by the organization.

• Hundreds of parents and guardians provided support through the NICU admission pathway.
• 91.2 percent of caregivers reviewed NICU admission content, including logistics, consent for treatment, and education.
• The discharge pathway is initiated well before discharge, providing parents, guardians, and caregivers adequate time to learn and prepare for safe discharge.

“Pediatric patients have unique educational needs. Twistle allows us to better support our patients and their families and meet the unique educational needs of the parents, guardians, and caregivers of infants admitted to the NICU.”

Chief Medical Information Officer and Pediatric Hospitalist

ADDITIONAL READING

• Using Data and Analytics to Improve Neonatal Outcomes
• Standard Approach to Early Induction of Labor Successfully Reduces Unnecessary Cesarean Deliveries
• How to Improve the Population Health of Women and Newborns: Exclusive Breast Milk Feeding
• How to Reduce Unnecessary Elective Deliveries: A Powerful Case Study
• Improving Healthcare Data Quality to Drive Lower C-Section Rates