The simple survey that’s improving patient care

Source: Best Health magazine, September 2014; Image: Thinkstock

TickiT patient surveys are an engaging way for people to open up to their doctors. The software program is from Shift Health, which was founded by Dr. Sandy Whitehouse, a physician and past medical director of the ER at BC Children’s Hospital. Originally developed for youth, who are often tech-savvy but find it difficult to talk about sensitive subjects, it allows patients to complete an interactive survey on a tablet in their doctor’s waiting room. Once completed, the information is sent to their doctor’s computer, with information flagged by importance (for example, medication allergies and self-harm behaviours get a red flag). This ensures better patient care by identifying at-risk patients, and also allows physicians to spend more time delivering care and less time asking questions. TickiT is being used in several Canadian hospitals, as well as in some U.S. and Australian hospitals.

This article was originally titled "TickiT to better patient care" in the September 2014 issue of Best Health. Subscribe today to get the full Best Health experience’and never miss an issue!