A vexing problem that healthcare providers face is the challenge of explaining a serious diagnosis or complex procedure to a patient. Most of the time, it is difficult for patients to digest the information but at the same time, it is important for the patient to retain vital details and ask any questions they may have related to the diagnosis or procedure.
Dr. Randall Porter, a neurosurgeon entrepreneur thinks that patients should be provided the facility of accessing a video replay of such interactions. A tablet-based platform called The Medical Memory was launched in January and is available in Arizona. It focuses mainly on specialty practices including oncology, orthopaedic and dental.
Dr. Porter believes this can reduce the stress of those encounters on the patient and also enable them to go over that information and share it with their loved ones. This issue is close to his heart because when his father was diagnosed with prostate cancer, it was difficult to parse together his father’s recall of the diagnosis and that of his physician. He feels that by providing physicians the ability to record the whole appointment, including complex media like MRI images, x-rays, and other relevant information, it would be easy for patients to simply download and see the information again and share the video interactions with their family members. In addition, this tool can also help physicians protect themselves from potential litigation.
All videos are available to patients free of charge and revenue is generated by having customers pay at cost. The platform allows physicians to also see how frequently patients have shared the videos. Dr. Porter observed that patients share these videos approximately two to five times and 80 percent of them take the video when it’s offered to them. 3500 videos have already been recorded since the launch of the platform in January.
The Medical Memory is working with Barrow Neurological Institute and Dignity-St. Joseph’s Hospital, as well as other Arizona Dignity hospitals, to roll out a multi-centre pilot program in July — the start of the 2015-2016 fiscal year.
Source: Stephanie Baum, Medcity News
Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons
