Florida Hospital Offers Hands-On Experience with the iPad

Florida Hospital Offers Patients Hands-On Experience with the iPad

The Apple iPadTM is used to help educate pediatric patients about various procedures  

ORLANDO, Fla., April 6, 2010 - Florida Hospital has entered into a pilot project with Unity Medical, Inc. to offer pediatric patients a unique, hands-on experience to help educate them about medical procedures. Florida Hospital for Children is utilizing the Apple iPad^TM with pediatric patients to help ease their fears about MRIs and CT scans at the hospital.

"At Florida Hospital for Children, we are continuously seeking new, innovative ways to enhance the patient experience," said Marla Silliman, administrator of Florida Hospital for Children. "The application on the iPad will support our child life specialists in ensuring that children and their parents feel comfortable with MRI or CT procedures and hopefully mitigate any potential fears they may have."

The iPad contains an application designed by Unity Medical, called jLog^TM or Journey Log, that uses short form video to educate patients about the procedure they are about to have. The application features animated, relatable characters developed by Florida Hospital that visually demonstrates what a child will experience and answers questions in conversational dialogue.

"The iPad was a really neat learning tool," said Sara Adamson, a 9-year-old pediatric patient at Florida Hospital for Children. "I am not nervous anymore about getting a CT scan because now I know what to expect. The videos about the CT scan were a great learning tool."

The new iPad allows for technology to be portable and it also creates the opportunity for more patient interaction with the program since children and their parents can choose to re-watch videos and have their questions answered. The inclusion of the iPad technology is one more tool that Florida Hospital is using to help enhance the patient experience for pediatric patients.

For more information, contact Florida Hospital Media Relations at 407-303-8217.

About Florida Hospital for Children

Florida Hospital for Children is a full-service facility served by more than 70 pediatric specialists and a highly trained pediatric team of more than 600 employees. This unique children's hospital provides patients with private, family-centered pediatric rooms, a dedicated pediatric emergency department and an Advanced Center for Pediatric Surgery. The Walt Disney Pavilion at Florida Hospital for Children delivers a complete range of pediatric health services for younger patients including advanced surgery, oncology, neurosurgery, cardiology and transplant services; full-service pediatrics; and an innovative health and obesity platform. The recent expansion includes a seven-floor dedicated entrance, three-story lobby, and when completed the Walt Disney Pavilion at Florida Hospital for Children will have a total of more than 200 pediatric beds.

About Unity Medical

Unity Medical, an award-winning, innovator of healthcare technology combines HD video production with Web 2.0 tools and high level strategic consulting to create a best-in-class, patient engagement and education platform.  The goal of Unity Medical product and services is to connect people and information, increase patient safety, reduce healthcare costs and improve the quality of care. Its clients include leading hospitals, clinics, and healthcare organizations looking for new ways to enhance the patient experience and reduce the overall burden on the healthcare system.

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