To help reduce anxiety for family members and friends waiting outside the operating room, Wake Forest Baptist Health has introduced a new form of direct communication.
Wake Forest Baptist is the first hospital in North Carolina to use EASE (Electronic Access to Surgical Events), a HIPAA-compliant cell phone app that allows an assigned nurse in the operating room to update approved loved ones on the status of a patient’s surgery.
The app lets family members receive secure and appropriate texts, photos and videos—based on their preferences—at certain points during surgical procedures. These updates also can be shared with an unlimited number of permitted designated contacts anywhere in the country. The optional application is free for patients and their family members and available in nine languages.