Healthcare professionals recognized April as stress awareness month spotlighting the causes and cures for stress. TeleHealth Servicesis helping to raise awareness and provide solutions with a new white paper,Reducing Hospitalization-Related Stress: Improving Patient Satisfaction and Outcomes. The white paper documents some of the latest and most influential clinical studies regarding stress and relaxation strategies for hospitalized patients.

Hospital visits are the best of times and worst of times to engage and educate patients. Stress from a diagnosis and treatment fills patients with anxiety and uncertainty. Disconnected from home and daily routines, patients are confronted with trusting strangers for treatment.

“Relaxation videos provide our patients options to address the stress or anxiety they may experience while in the hospital,” said Baptist Health Lexington Integrative C.A.R.E. Services Coordinator Cathrine Weaver, MSN, HN-BC, RN. “This empowers patients to participate in their own care needs because they, or their family, can access the videos independently.”

Stress can cause impaired immune systems and elevated blood pressure hampering treatment and recovery. Improving the patient experience with strategies to relieve stress can positively impact outcomes and financial reimbursements linked to HCAHPS survey scores, patient satisfaction and lower readmissions.

TeleHealth Services is the nation’s leading provider of comprehensive patient experience solutions that integrate patient televisions, AV systems and entertainment programming for hospitals and clinics throughout the United States. TeleHealth Services also offers advanced patient engagement and education solutions using patient room televisions and tablets for patients, family members and staff.

“A cornerstone of hospital strategies to lower stress and improve the patient experience is the television. With decades of experience in providing hospital entertainment and education networks to hospitals, we know that the TV serves as the patient’s main source of entertainment and information throughout the hospital stay,” said Amy Mora, MBA, MHA, RHEd, client outcomes manager for TeleHealth Services. “Patients appreciate the distraction with a source of entertainment that helps maintain some of their normal routine and provides a sense of connection to home.” 

Today, hospitals find that adding relaxation content is a useful strategy. TeleHealth has partnered with a number of content providers to add relaxation options to its interactive video-on-demand Patient Infotainment Platform.

Nature scenery, calming music and sleep programming can help hospitals create better patient experiences while providing additional therapeutic value. For example, significant improvements have been observed in the use of relaxation content for pain management. The Joint Commission has also introduced the requirement that hospitals offer at least one non-pharmacologic option for pain relief that could be addressed through relaxation videos.

“Hospitals don’t exactly have the reputation of being places to relax. However, relaxation is a key element in healing. Having options to help patients relax, whether during the day before a procedure or at night to promote a good night’s sleep, is important to our hospital,” said Andy Sturm, BSN, RN, CDE, MLDE, a patient educator at The Medical Center at Bowling Green in Kentucky. “Getting a good night’s sleep is healing to the mind and body, so we were pleased to hear from patients and family members who are thankful for the relaxing environment.”

A webinar on strategies to reduce hospitalization-related stress will be hosted by TeleHealth Services on May 8 at 2:00pm ET. For details visit: www.telehealth.com/resources/webinars