Virtual White Boards for Patient Satisfaction

Improving Patient Satisfaction Through Information Display Using Virtual White Boards

Communication with patients on their clinical status is important in delivering care in the emergency department. During times of high volume or complex patients, there may be lapses in communicating with patients about their hospital course or plans of action. These miscommunications may be enhanced during the current COVID-19 pandemic as there is minimized in-person interaction with patients in order to conserve personal protective equipment and decrease the risk of disease transmission. This study utilizes a virtual white board to deliver updates to patients about the status of their emergency department stay.

The ultimate goal of this study is to understand the effect of delivering timely information about a patient's emergency department course of their satisfaction surrounding the emergency department stay. The experience of patients in the emergency department has been significantly altered by the COVID-19 pandemic due to decreased in-person encounters, and the use of PPE. Delivering information about their clinical course and expected hospital course is more difficult now given the emphasis on less in-person interaction. In response, the investigators have deployed in collaboration with e-ink, a virtual e-paper white board that can be remotely edited to help display pertinent hospital course information to patients in the emergency department. The investigators will conduct a randomized controlled trial to understand the effect of deploying these white boards on patient satisfaction in the emergency department.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients in emergency department at Brigham and Women's Hospital
• Triaged to designated emergency department pods outfitted with virtual white board
• Expected emergency department stay of at least four hours
• Able to speak and read english
• Not primary psychiatric complaint

Exclusion Criteria:

• Medically ill or otherwise deemed unable to participate by the study PI and/or treating clinical team.
• Patients admitted to an inpatient bed but boarding in the emergency department over 10 hours.
• Previously participated in the study.
• Has COVID-19 risk flag or confirmed COVID-19 in electronic health record