Unique iPad App Designed to Guide Families in Choosing a Treatment Option for Appendicitis

COLUMBUS, OH, June 11, 2013 (Press-News.org) When it comes to a sick child, anxious parents want the best care delivered as quickly and seamlessly as possible. But emergency rooms (ERs) can be hectic places full of new sights, sounds, people and information coming from all directions all at once. The experience can be overwhelming -- especially when there is little time to make a potentially life-changing decision. To combat this problem, Clutch Interactive (a Division of ICC), and Soul Theater Productions have been engaged by Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio for an innovative research project that delivers critical decision-making information to children and their caregivers using a mobile iPad application (app). The designers hope that the app will help patients and caregivers choose between surgery and antibiotics alone to treat appendicitis, potentially limiting the number of appendectomies performed annually nationwide.

"The experience overall is really a sensory overload for most children," says Kyle Meadows, project lead and director of User Experience for ICC's Clutch Interactive. "There's going to be some interesting findings that come from figuring out what will engage people and allow them to obtain the information they need so they can make well informed decisions about their child's healthcare."

The goal of this initiative is to help patients and caregivers choose a treatment option for appendicitis, a common childhood aliment that sends some 80,000 young people into ERs each year. According to Nationwide Children's, many of these cases could be treated using antibiotics alone. The goal of the research is to determine if clinical information and patient activation strategies presented using common digital interfaces, like an iPad app, can improve the ability of children and caregivers to make treatment decisions.

The iPad app will be the cornerstone of a digital strategy designed to help validate that hypothesis by providing patients and their families with information designed to aid them in choosing a course of action: surgery or antibiotics. The app will use avatars developed by Clutch Interactive, that will guide families through the maze of medical information and decision making that occurs after a diagnosis is rendered.

This mobile app will also serve as a first-of-its-kind proof-of-concept project to see how well patients absorb information digitally in a healthcare setting -- potentially opening the door for a myriad of uses. Mobile apps like these could become prevalent as practitioners look for new ways to become even more proactive partners with their patients.

"We are aiming to tailor the experience to the wants of the child -- to make that unique to them while making sure we are also providing the parent with the information they need to make informed decisions," says Meadows. "So there are a lot of layers to it, which is definitely added complexity over what someone would consider a normal iPad app. The collection of data is critical as this will function as a research tool."

This first of its kind project qualified for a prestigious Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) award of $1.6M. "The PCORI award to [lead researchers] Dr. Deans and Dr. Minneci is an extraordinary achievement, given the intense national competition," says Dr. John Barnard, president of The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital. "Their expertise in clinical and outcomes research is a unique asset for Nationwide Children's Hospital, especially in the current environment of health care reform."

According to Nationwide Children's Hospital, children who come to the emergency room and are diagnosed with appendicitis will be invited to participate in the study with their caregivers. Participants will be randomly assigned to one of two groups--both will discuss appendicitis and treatment options with a physician, but one group will also get the information via the app on an iPad provided to them.

Once participants have received all of the information, they will either opt for surgery or a course of antibiotics alone. Patients who choose antibiotic therapy will be admitted to the hospital for at least 24 to 48 hours, so that physicians can monitor whether the drugs are working. If their condition hasn't improved, they will have surgery to remove the appendix. Participants will be followed until 18 years of age to ensure that appendicitis does not recur in the group that chose antibiotic therapy.

This mobile app will feature three layers: one for patients to engage them in their care and help them learn about appendicitis and their treatment options, one for doctors and clinicians to access use-related information so they can see how well the app is being received in real-time, and then an interface for researchers compiling data for the longitudinal study.

The app will measure over 60 data points such as time of use, which avatars are selected by which age groups, and the decisions made by patients and their families. All of these metrics are designed to test the validity of delivering health-related information via a digital interface.

"The two main things that really drove my personal interest in this project was the opportunity to innovate and do something truly unique, and improve the administration of healthcare and treatments for children in emergency situations" says Meadows. "I think about a future where any child or parent that comes into an ER can be handed an electronic resource that puts all the information about what's about to happen to them and all the choices they are going to be faced with, right in their hands, is just so empowering."

About ICC
ICC (Information Control Company), based in Columbus, Ohio, is a leading provider of enterprise technology solutions. With a staff over 500 highly trained consultants, we are experts in Strategy, User Experience, Visual Design, Engineering, Project Management, Business Analytics and Quality Assurance. Using these skills, we develop and deploy innovative, business-critical solutions that enable Fortune 500 and mid-market organizations to improve operational efficiencies. Our Business, Digital and Technology solutions give our clients a competitive advantage that helps them drive revenues and increase margin.

Clutch is a world-class digital ad agency inside the walls of ICC. Together, they're a collection of seasoned strategists, user experience specialists, writers, art directors and developers who specialize in the art and science of Interactive Conversations.

ICC is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and an IBM Premier Business Partner. Clients include Nationwide, Cardinal Health, McGraw Hill, the State of Ohio, and Honda.

ICC is committed to serving its clients, community and country by developing U.S.-based leaders who work hard to strengthen the American economy. More information is available at http://www.icctechnology.com.

About Soul Theater
For more than 25 years, Soul Theater has been developing award-winning TV and radio commercials and videos for such healthcare clients as Holzer Health System, WVU Hospital, Fairmont General Hospital & HealthPlex, OSU Heart Hospital, Ronald McDonald House, Princeton Community Hospital, Valley Health, and Southern West Virginia Health System.
Mark Rigsby (Owner of Soul Theater) has been awarded editor certifications from both Avid and Apple and has been recognized with numerous awards, including an Emmy, Addy, Aegis, Telly, Aster, Marcom, Louie and Hermes Awards, all in creative categories. www.soultheater.com

Media Contacts:
Theresa Hodgson
ICC
thodgson@iccohio.com
614-523-3070 x106
http://www.icctechnology.com/

Rich Mullikin
Communication Strategy Group for ICC
rmullikin@gocsg.com
866-997-2424
www.communicationstrategygroup.com