The potential for using hospital bedside TV services in England to provide patients with access to health information

G. McWhirter, Aslib Proceedings: New Information Perspectives, 2003,Vol. 55 No. 5/6, pp. 339-45

This article is a summary of a report, McWhirter (2002), looking at the potential of using televisions at hospital bedsides to provide patients with access to health information. The report was jointly commissioned by The Department of Health (DOH) and National Health Service (NHS) Direct Online, and focused on what could be done using existing (or planned) Patient Power infrastructure (Patient Power is a programme where all 255 major acute hospitals in England are to have a television and telephone installed at the bedside by December 2003). The latest generation of systems from all three of the main suppliers of bedside TV service could provide access to health information in a variety of ways, including access to videos, audio services, Intranet content and the Internet. A group meeting was held with key internal DOH and NHS stakeholders. Interviews were held with the main suppliers of bedside TV services. Opinions were also taken from several academics specialising in Health Informatics, from a range of commercial health information providers and a wide range of NHS Trust representatives. Two areas where further research would be of use include looking at the opportunities around digital radio as a way of providing patients with health information, and work looking at any particular issues that exist around communication with patients while they are in hospital.