In 2016, Brianna Schumacher, APNP, was awarded a UW Health Innovation Grant for her project “Text to Teach.” Tonsillectomy patients at the American Family Children’s Hospital will receive a series of automated pre- and post-operative text messages with timely educational reminders and links. The pilot, run by the Pediatric Otolaryngology team, launched last week.
Messages are one-way, providing educational reminders and links to handouts about a patient’s surgery and their recovery. Each patient scheduled for a tonsillectomy receives a total of nine text messages, including a survey. The pilot will continue through the end of the year, and is expected to both improve the patient and family experience and decrease informational calls to the clinic nursing staff.