An Exploration of the Association between Inpatient Access to Tablets and Patient Satisfaction with Hospital Care

Abstract

Patient-centered care seeks to improve healthcare quality by engaging patients in their health management. Hospitals are employing strategies to enhance patient engagement to improve care quality, as measured by patient satisfaction through the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. Tablets are one tool hospitals use to increase patient engagement during hospitalization, as tablets can provide patients with access to both entertainment options and personal health information through patient portals. To explore the association between tablet access and patient satisfaction, data on tablet provisioning were linked to patient HCAHPS scores. Patients who were provided a tablet had higher HCAHPS scores in a subset of satisfaction measures, as compared with patients who were not provided a tablet, suggesting that tablets could positively influence patients' satisfaction with their hospital stay. Future studies are warranted to understand the specific ways in which tablet use improves the patient experience during hospitalization.

Keywords: health information technology; hospital care; inpatient; patient engagement; patient portals; patient satisfaction; patient-centered care; personal health records; tablet computers.