Entertainment and Access to Information Create Improved Healing Environment
 
LodgeNet Healthcare to Demonstrate its Interactive Patient Television System at HIMSS 08

LodgeNet Healthcare, a unit of LodgeNet Interactive Corporation (NASDAQ: LNET) today announced the results of a new study showing that hospitals with interactive patient television systems enjoyed greater patient satisfaction ratings and other benefits than hospitals without such systems. The study confirms the advantages provided by products like LodgeNet Healthcare‘s LodgeNetRXTM Interactive Patient Television System, which will be showcased at Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society 08 (HIMSS), in Orlando from February 24-28, at booth #3937. 

The LodgeNet Healthcare study compared the experience among patients who stayed in hospitals with in-room interactive television systems against those who stayed in facilities that lacked this new technology.  Overall, it found that patients who stayed in facilities with interactive patient systems were significantly more satisfied with their experience.

“The study supports what we’ve long recognized: Patients have begun to expect this kind of amenity, and when they have easy access to rich interactive media, entertainment content and medical information, they feel more empowered and satisfied with their experience,” said Gary Kolbeck, Vice President of Business Development for LodgeNet Healthcare.  “We expect demand for these technologies to continue growing as more and more healthcare organizations recognize the benefits for their patients and their organization’s satisfaction scores.”

LodgeNet Healthcare’s research also identified further benefits that interactive patient television holds for hospitals, and which could help drive demand for such systems, including:

• Patients expect to be able to easily access features such as TV programming, hospital information, patient surveys, medical information, meal menus and staff members, and rate these aspects as important elements of their hospital stay.
• Patients and their families were more likely to recommend hospitals with an interactive system to others.
• Patients in hospitals with an interactive system were more likely to receive patient education to assist with their care during and post-hospitalization.
• Patients staying in hospitals without an interactive television system were more likely to address non-clinical requests to nurses, but less likely to have those requests fulfilled in a timely fashion.

The LodgeNet Healthcare group was started in 2006 to deploy and manage interactive patient television systems that keep patients entertained and informed during what can be a stressful time. As will be demonstrated at HIMSS, the system enables patient education, which can be a significant factor in improving clinical outcomes; and it allows patients to make non-clinical requests (e.g., for pillows or room cleaning) directly to the hospital’s fulfillment group for quick efficient handling.  In addition, the system offers hospital patients the movies, music, and games that LodgeNet Interactive has provided to hotel guests for almost three decades.

2007 was a year of strong growth for the group.  In the past year, LodgeNet Healthcare more than doubled its number of contracted facilities, which included such major customers as Edward Hospital in New Orleans and Swedish Medical Center, part of the HCA Health System, in Denver.  The company also doubled the installed base for its LodgeNetRX Interactive Patient Television System.

LodgeNet Healthcare is a leader in meeting the needs the growing number of hospitals and healthcare facilities that are seeking to deploy interactive solutions to better inform and empower patients throughout the continuum of care.  The company has sold its reliable, easy to use and supportable interactive systems to 26 hospitals to date.