Intermountain Healthcare hospitals in Utah County now have surgery information posted on their Web sites, with an option to complete the health history form online, giving surgery patients a chance to learn about their procedure beforehand.

"This adds convenience and an extra resource to the patient," said Darren Cowley, spokesman for IHC. "It allows the patient to register at their convenience."

The service is currently available on the Web sites of seven hospitals, only a few of IHC's facilities.

"We'll continue to see this program roll out and expand to other facilities," Cowley said.

The online feature offers step-by-step information about the facility, the day before surgery, the day of surgery, the day after surgery, billing information and parking information with maps. The before-surgery link has frequently asked questions and a health history form patients can fill out at their own pace.

Before the form was online, patients either had to fill it out the day of surgery or during a phone call from a pre-screened nurse at the hospital. Now, they can email it to the hospital, though they still have the option to fill it out over the phone or at the hospital.

The phone call could be an interruption to patients if they were called at the wrong time, said Carol Hadlock, administrative director of Surgical Services for the hospitals in the Utah County region.

"People don't want additional interruptions in their day," she said.

Though the new online feature is a convenience for patients, Hadlock believes the other information is also beneficial.

"The educational process is as or more important than the opportunity to fill out the health history form online," Hadlock said. "These days, everyone wants to know what's going on when they are going in for surgery. People can now go to the Web site and learn about their surgery."

To get the word out about the Web sites' new features, Hadlock said they have distributed notepads to physicians' offices in Utah County for patients to pick up. Also, they are asking the hospital employees to get the word out when they talk to people or are asked about surgery options at the hospital where they work.

Doctors call patients after surgery to check if everything is all right. To evaluate the new program, Hadlock plans to have the doctors ask the patient if they used the new online service and how they felt about it.

"I think it will be at least three months to get the feedback plan fully implemented," Hadlock said.

The new information, under the Surgical Services link, has been up for two weeks on the Web sites of Utah County IHC hospitals, Hadlock said.

"The program was piloted at Cottonwood Hospital and has moved to the rest of Salt Lake, and now here," she said.



Copyright Brigham Young University 4 Apr 2003