A cartoon bear named Buddy and a cartoon kid named Max are trying to assure patients that scary tests and treatments in the hospital aren't really so bad. And they're doing it all through the iPad.
Max and Buddy the Bear's "Bear Facts About CT Scans" is an application being used by Walt Disney Pavilion at Florida Hospital for Children and St. Luke's Health System in Boise, ID.
"Where I see the big use of this is in our patient education," says David Pate, president and CEO of St. Luke's. "So far, both the patients and the doctors just love it."
Marla Silliman, CEO at Walt Disney Pavilion, has been using Max and Buddy since the iPad's launch on April 3 "to see if children can learn through these healthcare modules in a fun and animated way. We want to see if they like it compared with the computer.
"And so far, it's catching on quickly," she says. "Even our administrators are passing it around in the board rooms and conference rooms, having fun with it."
Ken Hollsinger is chief operating officer of Unity Medical, which created the "Max and Buddy" application, and is working on variations for senior citizens undergoing cardiac procedures, rehabilitation, and even bariatric surgery.
"When we saw the iPad coming, we recognized the opportunity to deliver information in a clinical setting," Hollsinger says. "Up to now, most applications [on a computer] had very limited delivery in those settings or at home."
With the iPad, patients can play with the screen and learn, even as a friend or loved one watches at the same time, and help the patient remember what he may easily forget.
Pate says that's important. "When you see a doctor, especially if he or she has to convey something very serious and emotional, the patient often is not going to absorb it."
With these types of iPad applications, the information can be shared with the family and "everybody gets the same word."
He emphasizes that it's not just for kids. "Some seniors are not tech savvy; they didn't grow up with all these new forms of electronic communication on the computer."
But in a few experiments with the Medicare population at St. Luke's, the hospital has found that seniors seem to grasp health information on the iPad much better than they can on a computer.
"The thing about the iPad is that it's so easily portable. You can take this to the patient in the waiting room. You don't have to sit them down at a computer," Pate says.
Silliman says the six iPads their hospital purchased are being used with children 6 to 11 years old who are about to undergo brain CT scans. Max, a cartoon child who's already had the test, explains to his friend, Buddy the Bear, what to expect when he gets a ride through the "donut hole" of the machine, why he may have to wear a heavy apron, and what the machine will do.
The only problem at first was the hospital's Internet connection, which had to be upgraded. Now, the device seems to be helping patients and their families relax a bit about the diagnostic process, according to the hospital.
Officials for Unity, St. Luke's, and the Walt Disney Pavilion all hope that if the iPad's fun interface can help patients relax about their healthcare experience and that will lead to higher satisfaction and improved outcomes.