Danbury Hospital First In State With Patient Education Tool

DANBURY — Patients about to undergo a medical procedure often feel anxious, overwhelmed, or fearful. No matter how soothing the environment or how engaged physicians are, hospitalization is an intimidating experience.

As a way to help a patient prepare for medical procedures in the comfort of home, Danbury Hospital announced its partnership with Emmi Solutions, an engaging multimedia web-based tool that helps patients and families learn what to expect before, during, and after a medical procedure.

The new system, recently launched within the Hospital’s Center for Weight Loss Surgery, will educate patients and improve patient satisfaction and safety. Danbury Hospital becomes the first hospital in Connecticut to offer the interactive technology.

“We, at Danbury Hospital, want to do everything we can to increase patient safety and reduce risk in procedures performed like bariatric surgery, which is often very complicated and misunderstood,” said Matthew A. Miller, MD, chief medical officer at Danbury Hospital. “A large part of that is educating patients and helping to bring their expectations in line with reality. We always have an informed consent conversation with our patient, but using Emmi helps patients more fully understand the proposed procedure, the reason behind it and its risks and benefits.”

Emmi programs work by:

*Patients gaining an access code provided by their physician

*Utilizing a soothing conversational voice to engage patients

*Using easy to understand graphics and visuals

*Allowing the patient to take notes and forwarding questions directly and confidentially to their doctor for later discussion

*Providing detailed documentation of each patient interaction with the program to the specific physician

*Alerting the physician to specific concerns the patient may have

In addition to enhancing communication and strengthening the physician-patient relationship, another primary benefit of Emmi is streamlining the informed consent process. Studies indicate that patients who fully understand what to expect from medical procedures are more satisfied with the outcomes and less likely to file medical malpractice claims. After each module, Emmi generates an informed consent sheet that the patient returns to the doctor prior to surgery.

“Emmi gave me the flexibility and comfort of reviewing the ins and outs of my complex weight loss surgery long before the scheduled date,” said Shawn Quinn, a 28-year-old patient from Poughkeepsie, N.Y., who had bariatric surgery at Danbury Hospital in April. “This new and innovative alternative to traditional brochures and numerous pamphlets that never get read made me feel like an educated and active participant throughout my entire health care process.”

All Emmi programs are reviewed by physicians board-certified in their respective fields. Danbury Hospital plans to incorporate and adopt Emmi’s other surgery modules within the entire organization throughout the year.

For more information, visit www.danburyhospital.org.