Starling Bedside Communication System – Assessing the efficacy of a patient-initiated, multilingual request conveyance system

Background: Patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) are among the most vulnerable of the country's population. LEP status can result in a greater likelihood of misdiagnosis, incorrect treatment, and increased length of hospital stay, all of which lead to decreased quality of care. The medical field is in dire need of innovative solutions that improve patient-provider communication in hospital settings. In response, we developed a multilingual bedside request conveyance system, dubbed Starling™, which allows LEP inpatients to articulate frequent patient care requests to nursing staff in their own language.

Objective/Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness and adoptability of the Starling™ System in a real-world hospital setting.

Methods: Four-month efficacy studies are currently being implemented with partner hospitals, where two comparable inpatient units will be selected – an intervention unit, which will receive the Starling™ System, and a control unit, which will receive usual care. Both units will collect data on key performance indicators throughout the project. Patient satisfaction with the System and their hospital stay will be assessed using post-hospitalization surveys and HCAHPS data; data regarding the System's impact on nurse workflow and patient-provider communication will be collected using system utilization data, surveys, and qualitative methods. Data will be analyzed for within- and across-group changes resulting from the implementation of the Starling™ System.

Results: Preliminary results from this study will be available for presentation at the time of the meeting.

Discussion: The Starling™ System promises to be an effective means through which hospitalized LEP patients and nursing staff can communicate, and can play a positive role in improving the quality of care for this underserved population.