Children’s Mercy Kansas City Goes Live With GetWellNetwork for Interactive Patient Care
Phase one focuses on patient education and discharge preparation at Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas; phase two includes expansion to Children’s Mercy Hospital and key integration with Cerner EMR
GetWellNetwork®, Inc. (@GetWellNetwork), the leader in Interactive Patient Care™ (IPC) solutions, announced that Children’s Mercy (@ChildrensMercy) Kansas City successfully completed phase one of IPC implementation at Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas in Overland Park, Kan. Designed to enhance the pediatric care experience for patients and families, the GetWellNetwork inpatient solution went live in December 2016 and will expand to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., in 2017.
In phase one, Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas deployed GetWellNetwork in 50 patient rooms to engage, educate and empower children and parents in the care process. The hospital integrated GetWellNetwork with the admission, discharge and transfer (ADT) application of their Cerner electronic health records (EHR) system to personalize the care experience based on the patient’s name, age and diagnosis. Patients and families engage with educational content and entertainment options through GetWellTown, a fun and interactive user experience.
At go-live, the hospital implemented two Interactive Patient Care Pathways™ focused on education and discharge readiness. First, the Patient Education Pathway ensures patients and families view important education videos at admission prior to accessing other content through GetWellNetwork. In addition, safety tips automatically appear on the TV at 1 p.m. each day. Second, the Discharge Planning Pathway prompts patients and families throughout their stay with a checklist and questions to help them get ready to go home. As a result, patients learn more about their health condition and are better prepared to adhere to their care plan following discharge.
At Children’s Mercy, care for patients and their families is thoroughly integrated with the EHR. In phase two, GetWellNetwork will expand to Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo., where the evaluation of deeper integration with the EHR is currently underway. With integration between Cerner and GetWellNetwork, care teams can assign personalized educational content for patients and their families and view completion from the EHR. Interfaces between the two systems provide nurses seamless, uninterrupted work process, promoting both utilization of GetWellNetwork health education and patient and family engagement.
“At Children’s Mercy, we continually seek new ways to fulfill our vision to be an international leader recognized for advancing pediatric health and delivering optimal health outcomes through innovation,” said Janis Smith, DNP, RN-BC, senior director of clinical informatics & professional practice, Children’s Mercy Kansas City. “Giving patients and their caregivers the tools to meet their individualized needs goes a long way to improving clinician-patient partnerships, especially with young patients who may not know how to express themselves or ask for exactly what they need.”
“For more than a century, Children’s Mercy Kansas City has been nationally recognized for delivering high-quality, compassionate pediatric care,” said Karen Drenkard, Ph.D., RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, senior vice president and chief clinical and nursing officer at GetWellNetwork. “We are honored they have chosen to partner with us in helping transform children’s lives and redefine pediatric medicine.”
