May 15, 2008

The Patient Channel goes online

The Patient Channel is now available in patient rooms and on the Internet at no cost to Adams County Public Hospital District No. 2 or district residents.

Clients of East Adams Rural Hospital and the Ritzville Medical Clinic have had access to the Patient Channel in patient rooms and waiting rooms for a number of years, according to Vicky Johnson at EARH.

The same programming is now available to anyone with Internet access at http://www.thepatientchannel.com.

At the left of the main page are several medical education links, including allergies/respiratory, bone and joint, men’s health, parenting programs, senior health and balanced nutrition.

The goal of The Patient Channel is to educate patients and their families of medical issues, encourage informed communication with healthcare providers, improve their ability to make informed decisions and promote a sense of empowerment during the times when accurate information is most needed.

Programming covers a wide spectrum of topics including cancer, asthma, diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, smoking cessation, parenting, health/wellness and other healthcare topics. New programs are added throughout the year.

The channel standardizes and increases access to patient education content 24-hours-a-day, seven days a week.

The educational content on The Patient Channel is controlled by independent advisory boards, consisting of experts in medicine, patient care, education and ethics, whose objective is to ensure the accuracy and appropriateness of programming.

While the TV channel is distributed by GE Healthcare, the boards review all content prior to airing and identify new opportunities for topics that are contemporary and of high-interest to the general public.