Benefits of an informational videotape for emergency department patients

To determine if an informational videotape affected patient's attitudes tow ards their emergency department visit, we conducted a prospective study usi ng a convenience sample of patients waiting to be seen at a southern Califo rnia emergency department. Patients waiting to be treated were randomized t o view an informational videotape or to receive standard management (no vid eotape). The informational videotape lasted 6 minutes and served to orient the patients to the emergency department. It showed the sequence of steps f rom entry into the department to discharge, the nature of triage and causes for delays, the different services offered by the emergency department, an d the roles of each of the department staff members, One week after dischar ge, patients were contacted at home by telephone and were asked to rate var ious aspects of their emergency department experience. A comparison of the telephone survey rankings between those who viewed the videotape (98 patien ts) and those who did not (100 patients) revealed statistically significant improvements in the former group on questions about level of anxiety and a ppropriateness of delays, An informational videotape for patients in waitin g areas may be a useful tool to educate about emergency medical services, t o reduce anxiety, and to improve satisfaction with the emergency department stay. Copyright (C) 2000 by W.B. Saunders Company.