The potential for using hospital bedside TV services in England to provide patients with access to health information

This article is a summary of a report which looks at the potential of using television sets at hospital bedsides to provide patients with access to health information. The report was jointly commissioned by The Department of Health (DoH) and National Health Service (NHS) Direct Online, and focused on what could be done using existing (or planned) Patient Power infrastructure. The latest generation of systems from all three of the main suppliers of bedside television service could provide access to health information in a variety of ways. A group meeting was held with key internal DoH and NHS stakeholders. Interviews were held with the main suppliers of bedside television services. Opinions were also taken from several academics specialising in Health Informatics, from a range of commercial health information providers and a wide range of NHS Trust representatives. Two areas where further research would be of use are looking at the opportunities around digital radio as a way of providing patients with health information, and looking at any particular issues that exist around communication with patients while they are in hospital.