Becker's Clinical Quality & Infection Control

62 PATIENT EXPERIENCE AHRQ launches app to improve patient engagement By Anuja Vaidya T he Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality debuted a mobile application that helps patients prepare for medical visits. The Question Builder app allows users to take down details of their upcoming appointments, including the date and reason for the visit. They can choose questions they would like to ask their physicians. The app includes a list of common questions in different situations, but the questions can be customized for specific types of medical visits. Users can also email informa- tion to themselves or others via the app and can use it to take down notes during the visit. Additionally, patients can use the app to upload relevant pictures for their visit, including skin rashes, as well as upload insurance or prescription medication information. The app was developed with input from patients and providers. The content in the app remains on the user's device. The app is available for free on smartphones, tablets and laptops and can be downloaded on iTunes and Google Play. "AHRQ's new question builder app helps patients and provid- ers get the most out of each and every patient visit by using information to achieve the best outcomes for patients," said AHRQ Director Gopal Khanna. n Airbnb expands medical stay program: 4 things to know By Mackenzie Bean A irbnb expanded its Open Homes program for medi- cal stays through two new partnerships, the company announced March 26. Four things to know: 1. Airbnb launched the medical stays program last September, which allows Airbnb hosts to offer their homes to patients trav- eling for critical healthcare services or respite care. 2. Airbnb has partnered with the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foun- dation in New York City and the Cancer Support Community in Washington, D.C., to expand this service to more patients. 3. The groups, which both support critically ill patients, will have access to free housing from Airbnb hosts through the program. 4. Airbnb is also giving the organizations more than $1.2 mil- lion in grants to cover housing for patients when free homes may not be available. n AI teaches physicians to be more empathetic By Mackenzie Garrity H ospitals are now adopting artificial intelligence tools to teach physicians and staff to be more empathetic toward patients and families, according to e Wall Street Journal. Some are incorporating virtual reality simulations into medical training programs, placing caregivers in the role of patients. Other AI tools assist physicians interacting with virtual patients. e goal is to help healthcare employees be more empa- thetic and improve difficult conversations with terminally ill patients. "If healthcare workers can virtually stand in the shoes of patients as they interact with doctors, nurses and their families, they have a tremendous opportunity to improve the care they deliver," Daryl Cady, CEO of Hospice of Southern Maine in Scarborough, told the WSJ. At Hospice of Southern Maine, physicians are being trained with a VR module from Embodied Labs. rough the VR simulator, physicians get experience being the patient who has a terminal disease, Alzheimer's disease or hearing and vision loss. Physicians can move just as the patient would and get a complete sense of how a family and caregivers may act in different situations. e VR tool also allows the physician to more easily experience how a patient may feel. "e goal is to help medical students, clinicians and the community better understand the role of hospice care in the end of life," Ms. Cady said to WSJ. "I was surprised at the emotions I experience doing the module." Children's Community Pediatrics in Pittsburgh is using another form of AI to allow physicians to train on digital patients. Digital training simulation firm Kognito shows physicians and staff to identify substance abuse in teenag- ers and the appropriate conversations to have. A 2017 study published in the Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association found the benefits of adopting VR simulators. In the study, 277 physicians and nurses used a Kognito simulation to practice screening for substance abuse and mental health disorders. Aer three months, there was a 38 percent increase in at-risk patients identified and a 60 percent increase in pa- tients screened, the WSJ reported. Additionally, there was a 44 percent increase in patients working with providers to determine treatment plans. "Instead of having to pre-script all the possible questions and answers, AI allows the virtual human to dynamically generate a response as users speak with them," Ron Gold- man, CEO and co-founder of Kognito told the WSJ. n

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