Children's Mercy Kansas City (Mo.) uses an app called EASE to update patient's families on the progress of a procedure or surgery, according to KSHB–41 Action News.
The app allows nurses in the operating room to send parents or families updates on the status of their loved ones via a messaging system. KSHB–41 Action News referred to the app as the "medical version of Snapchat."
"It's been called that by some," Stacey Gibson, RN, MSN, a nurse practitioner in Children's Mercy Heart Center, told the publication. "Essentially the provider in the room is able to send updates to the parents own phone and those updates disappear within approximately 60 seconds."
Children's Mercy is using the app as part of a pilot program to help parents feel more involved in their child's surgery. "We have learned it's an additional way [of] enhancing that experience for the family while they are waiting during the procedure," Ms. Gibson told KSHB–41 Action News.
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