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Healthcare professionals report interactive patient systems reduce costs, improve quality of care, and help facilities remain competitive.

Interactive Patient Systems (IPS) solutions, at their most basic, prevent healthcare providers from hunting down TV/VCR carts and allow the clinician to be absent for patient education. Many of the more than the one-hundred seventy providers that KLAS spoke with for the recently published Delivering More than Patient Education: Interactive Patient Systems 2011 report said that they purchased their IPS in an effort to cover the basics but realize that, with a budget and a commitment to adoption, their IPS could fill many roles.

But not every hospital has the same goal or budget.  Every organization has different goals for an IPS. These solutions can be tailored to fit many different needs and are often scaled up in functionality-over time.

"Most providers are satisfied with their IPS," said report author Mark Allphin. "In fact ninety-three percent of respondents reported that their IPS goals had been met."

An IPS can automate many functions of caregivers and capture data that otherwise would have walked out the door. The most common features provided by vendors are: patient feedback, games, internet access, service requests, nurse communication, and dietary services.

The main vendors included in this report--GetWellNetwork, LodgeNet, Skylight, and Telehealth--each offer differing ranges of IPS features, from simple to complex, and deliver them in different ways.

KLAS found out that providers are satisfied with their solutions and pleased with their service.  Providers often know what they want from an IPS, and respondents recommend looking beyond basic functionality when selecting a solution.

To learn more about IPS solutions, the features that they offer, and how the various vendors deliver them, Delivering More than Patient Education: Interactive Patient Systems 2011 is available to healthcare providers online for a significant discount. To purchase, healthcare providers and vendors can visit www.KLASresearch.com/reports

Source: KLAS