The Columbus Dispatch : St. Ann's patients get answers in a click

It's a simple thing, in theory. Hospitalized patients and their family members want to know who their doctor is and when he or she is going to stop by their room. They'd also like their questions answered in pretty short order. But those things aren't always so simple.

Doctors' schedules shuffle, emergencies crop up, and hospital staff members sometimes aren't always clear on plans. To ease the unpredictability that can accompany hospitalization, doctors in the MedOne group who practice at Mount Carmel St. Ann's in Westerville developed a computer program they call a "patient portal."

The group's patients can log on to the portal through bedside computers and watch an introductory video that explains the system and fills them in on several basics of their hospital stay; see who their doctor is; see when he or she is expected to be in the room next; and leave questions that are answered directly by the doctor several times a day. Family members have access to the same program from home or work computers. Each patient designates one family contact to serve as a line of communication for the extended family and leave questions for caregivers...