Waiting Room Gadget May Save Lives

You don’t have to be around kids very long to realize that the way they communicate is different. From e-mailing to texting to sending instant messages, most kids feel comfortable letting their fingers do the talking. That has led to an innovative idea when it comes to medicine. Doctors have developed a way to turn their waiting rooms into a kind of chat room and they’re getting some kids to open up like never before.

When most of us go to the doctor’s office we expect to spend at least some time in the waiting room filling out paperwork. Not Kenzie Davis. As a 16 year old, and part of the first generation to grow up on computers, she gets a touch-screen computer that privately asks some of the questions that her doctor would normally ask during the exam.

“I don’t want my parents to hear some of those things, so, in order not to hurt their feelings or try to upset them or anything, it’s easier to just answer truthfully without worrying about their reactions to it,” says Davis.

It’s called a Health E-Touch Pad and it was developed by doctors at Nationwide Children’s Hospital. They know that getting adolescents honestly involved in their own health care can sometimes mean asking some uncomfortable questions.

“That might be drug use, sexual behavior, it might be suicidal thoughts. Those are things that are uncomfortable to talk about,” says Kelly Kelleher, MD, at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.

So doctors decided to let teens talk about those uncomfortable issues in the one way they feel most comfortable, by computer. A recent study found that not only are young patients more honest with these devices, but by reading the results, doctors are more likely to pick up on the problems that may have gone unnoticed.* In some cases those issues were serious.

“For the first several hundred children who reported suicidal behavior, we were able to have almost all of them evaluated right on the spot. And that is unheard of in most practices,” says Kelleher.

If the kids need counseling, doctors can offer it immediately, not only saving time, but in some cases saving lives. Doctors say another advantage is that the computer adjusts each answer a kid gives. For example, if a child admits to drug use, the computer will ask more in-depth questions on the subject. If drugs are not a problem the computer will move on to another set of questions. Doctors at Nationwide Children’s Hospital hope the computers will be in use everywhere in the coming years.

*“Trial of Computerized Screening for Adolescent Behavioral Concerns”, Pediatrics, Vol 121, No. 6, June 2008