New Bedside Tablet at reduces patient anxiety, lowers costs at Wellstar Paulding Hospital

HIRAM, Ga. (February 1, 2017) – Hospital stays understandably come with some degree of anxiety for patients and caregivers. Some of the discomfort comes from not knowing what to expect from treatment or what comes next. WellStar Paulding Hospital launched a new program to bring this information to the patient’s fingertips through MyChart Bedside inpatient portal. WellStar is the only health system in Georgia to offer this program today.
Upon admission to the hospital, patients receive a touchscreen tablet where they can view test results, medications, labs, vital signs and daily treatment schedules. Currently in pilot phase at Paulding Hospital, MyChart Bedside will be available across WellStar’s Epic-based hospitals by May 2017.
This level of information and engagement in their treatment yields positive results. Research shows patients are more likely to have a better healthcare experience with lower costs if they are involved in the process and kept informed during their hospital stay.
“This program will help inform and empower patients by allowing them to review their medical information throughout their stay,” said Jon Morris, M.D., WellStar’s chief information officer.
The MyChart patient portal is available outside of the hospital today, letting patients access notes from their last doctor’s visit, message their healthcare team and request prescription refills, as well as safely access their medical records from a personal computer or device. Patients will see the same functionality in their bedside tablet, along with other functions specific to an inpatient stay.
While in the hospital, patients will be able to communicate with their care team through the device, access instructional videos and other educational materials related to their condition, take notes and sign up for the outpatient WellStar MyChart patient portal.
As online-based systems, MyChart and MyChart Bedside don’t store patient information in the device’s memory, ensuring the patient’s privacy. Every time an inpatient is given a tablet, there is no record of the previous patient.

About WellStar Health System
WellStar Health System, the largest health system in Georgia, is known nationally for its innovative care models, focused on improving quality and access to healthcare. WellStar consists of WellStar Medical Group, 240 medical office locations, outpatient centers, health parks, a pediatric center, nursing centers, hospice, homecare, as well as 11 hospitals: WellStar Atlanta Medical Center, WellStar Atlanta Medical Center South, WellStar Kennestone Regional Medical Center (anchored by WellStar Kennestone Hospital), WellStar West Georgia Medical Center, and WellStar Cobb, Douglas, North Fulton, Paulding, Spalding Regional, Sylvan Grove and Windy Hill hospitals. As a not-for-profit, WellStar continues to reinvest in the health of the communities it serves with new technologies and treatments. For more information, visit wellstar.org.

About the American College of Healthcare Executives
The American College of Healthcare Executives is an international professional society of 40,000 healthcare executives who lead hospitals, healthcare systems and other healthcare organizations.ACHE's mission is to advance its members and healthcare management excellence. ACHE offers its prestigious F ACHE® credential, signifying board certification in healthcare management. ACHE's established network of 79 chapters provides access to networking, education and career development at the local level. In addition, ACHE is known for its magazine, Healthcare Executive,and its career development and public policy programs. Through such efforts, ACHE works toward its vision of being the preeminent professional society for healthcare executives dedicated toimproving health. The Foundation of the American College of Healthcare Executives was established to further advance healthcare management excellence through education and research. The Foundation of ACHE is known for its educational programs-including the annual Congress on Healthcare Leadership, which draws more than 4,000 participants-and groundbreaking research. Its publishing division, Health Administration Press, is one of the largest publishers of books and journals on health services management, including textbooks for college and university courses. For more information, visit www.ache.org.