Good Night, Nurse! BMC Tests Virtual RN for Discharges

Mass High Tech
December 14, 2007

With an eye toward controlling costs and improving care, Boston Medical Center plans to study the use of computer-animated characters to fill in for human nurses during patient discharges.

When patients leave the hospital, some don't understand how to care for themselves and end up back in the infirmary -- adding unwelcome expenses, researchers say.  But hiring extra nurses to spend more time to teach patients how to manage their health during discharges would be pricey as well.  So Boston Medical Center hopes to solve the problem with a shot of cutting-edge technology.

The Boston hospital expects to begin a clinical trial in February to see how well patients fare after a visit from virtual nurse "Louise" versus those who receive discharges from human nurses.  The trial may determine whether the virtual nursing technology is adopted nationally, said Brian Jack, a physician at the hospital and lead investigator in the study.

... "There may be some people who object to bringing 21st century (technology) into the hospital," said Jason Lee, vice president of programs at the New England Healthcare Institute, a think tank in Cambridge. "But if it lowers costs and it increases quality, and if patients don't object, it's great." 

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