Patients easily stay in touch with tech

A new system provides approximately 200 patients at the 750-bed Spectrum Health/Butterworth campus in Grand Rapids, MI, the technology to surf the Internet, communicate electronically with healthcare teams, watch patient videos and enjoy movies and games powered by Xbox 360 software. Other features will eventually be added, including interpreters to communicate with foreign-language patients; video-conferencing and messages chaplains can leave for patients they have missed on their rounds. The "Care Console" is a partnership between Cerner Corp. and Microsoft.