New Children's Hospital App Could Help Parents Navigate Children's Healthcare
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Whether you like them or not, smart phones are a fact of life.
And Children's Hospital has a new app that it says will enhance the family and patient experience.
Sarah Ball, manager of patient experience at Children's, explained the app to KDKA money editor Jon Delano on Tuesday.
Delano: "An app at a hospital? What's that all about?"
Ball: "You know what we find is that families really rely on their mobile devices for a lot of the decisions they make about health care."
"We need to be part of that mobile device," says Ball. "We need things to be easily accessible. People are no longer going back home to look things up on the computer. They want to know right then."
Introducing the new upgraded Children's Hospital mobile app.
The Children's Hospital mobile app is designed to save busy young parents lots of time, using a device they are already very familiar with.
A young parent herself, Ball says the new app -- available for free -- really helps.
"I actually myself have a 5 and 3 year old, and so I find my CCP practice visits are right there on my calendar. I have immunizations. I need to reach that information a lot quicker," she said.
The app allows you to access your hospital data wherever you are from your smartphone.
You can also check out locations, doctors, and even symptoms for possible treatment options by clicking on a body part.
"You would select the body area, and it will bring you down to a level where you are. Let's say your throat hurts," Ball said.
To be added soon to the app -- the length of wait times at various medical centers to see a doctor.
"We would like to see a multiple of our centers have a wait time posted," Ball said.
And don't worry about data breaches of personal info, says Ball.
It will take passwords to get into your medical info.
"The mobile phone is the command center for families to better care for their children," she concludes.