LodgeNet Healthcare today announced a plan to deliver a comprehensive patient television solution in a partnership with one of the nation’s most respected cancer hospitals. The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center has agreed to contract with LodgeNet Healthcare for a variety of services related to interactive patient television. These include DIRECTV® satellite programming, professional services (including architecture design and installation, TV installation and digital TV migration planning), high-definition (HD) interactive patient television, and a patient education application.
LodgeNet Healthcare, a division of LodgeNet Interactive Corporation (NASDAQ: LNET), is gaining recognition within hospitals as the leading provider of television solutions and connectivity. “For years hospitals have gotten by with simply placing a TV on the wall,” explains General Manager Gary Kolbeck. “Technology is forcing hospitals to look at how they deliver television to the patient room, and our company is well positioned to get them up to speed in addressing their patient television and connectivity needs.” Kolbeck adds that many hospitals have not performed the kind of maintenance to their cable plants and infrastructure that is required to support the robust programming currently available from cable and satellite companies. As bulky TVs are replaced with flat screen HD sets, hospitals need a company that can provide a migration plan to meet today’s requirements. “For almost thirty years, the biggest brands in the hospitality industry have looked to LodgeNet to address their television and connectivity solutions. That experience – as well as the breadth of 10,000 facilities served around the world – makes LodgeNet the logical solution,” Kolbeck says.
In addition to supporting M. D. Anderson’s solution with a nationwide field service team, call center, patented architecture and the most advanced remote diagnostic capabilities available, LodgeNet’s Professional Services team will completely overhaul the facility’s cable plant and fiber backbone, install television sets in more than 1,000 rooms, and deliver analog and digital DIRECTV® service. Utilizing this upgraded infrastructure, the LodgeNetRX® Interactive Patient Television System will deliver HD movies and interactive menus directly to the patient rooms, maximizing the organization’s investment in new HDTVs from LG. LodgeNet’s patented delivery platform will deliver all the content and interactivity to the patient rooms without the need of a set-top box or additional in room equipment. Available only from LodgeNet, this solution assures that staff is not responsible for more equipment and service, which means visiting the patient room is virtually never needed.
In addition, LodgeNet Healthcare and M. D. Anderson are deploying an interactive patient education solution that will allow patients to learn more about their condition through on demand educational videos. Taking advantage of the simple and familiar remote pillowspeaker, the LodgeNetRX solution will help patients take advantage of M. D. Anderson’s extensive education library without making any changes to their existing process.
“We are pleased to be able to provide our patients with this new and expanded interactive broadcast system,” said Larry Jones, Executive Director of Academic Technology at M. D. Anderson.