"It allows us to see what the central problem is in the heart."
Doctor Alan Friedman enjoys spending time with his patients. And now, thanks to one popular gadget, he's by their bedside more often giving them up to date information with the tap of a finger. "The idea to use an Ipad to bring the doctor and patient together really stems from our philosophy at the Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital to have a family-centered approach to patient care."
And Friedman says safe and efficient care is key. That's why the hospital launched an Ipad pilot program to advance the communication between the doctor and the patient. "We're able, with the Ipad, to bring the patient's entire medical record to their bedside. We're able to bring all the results of their tests, all of their x-rays, and we can sit with them and their parent and explain the findings and actually involve them directly in their care."
A reliable tool that's benefiting the doctors as well. "Now our residents, our staff physicians can actually take the technology wherever they go. We can write our notes as we move from room to room. We can use the technology with a touch screen to use drop down menus to order medications at the time we make the decision to order them."
And the Ipads use the hospital wireless connection, so nothing is stored in the device itself.
And for mother Jennifer Endres, the technology is a comfort. Born with a heart defect, her daughter Hannah is just two weeks old. She says having the latest information on Hannah's progress is important. "I think anytime you are able to see a doctor more and have a doctor more in the room, you feel better. You feel more assured. You feel, you know, you feel more comfortable with everything going on. You know that they're paying their full attention to you."
Which is why Dr. Friedman hopes the program will be a permanent addition to the hospital. "It's our hope that as these next days and weeks unfold, we will see with even clearer vision how technology like this can be used to facilitate and improve patient care and bring doctors back to the bedside of the patients."
The Ipad program is on the final stages of testing. Doctor Friedman hopes to see the addition of more devices within the next couple of months.
