When you think about renting the newest release, you’re more likely to think Blockbuster than your hospital bedside. Thanks to Careflix, a new hospital-based movie rental service, patients, families and nurses need look no further than the hospital lobby to find the latest entertainment.
Careflix, the brainchild of a group of University of Pennsylvania graduate students, launched a pilot program in Aug. 2004 at Riddle Memorial Hospital in Media, Pennsylvania. According to Jonathan Bebo, Careflix founder and chief executive officer, the idea for the service came about after a friend wound up in the hospital and was “bored to tears” by the television service.
“We did research and found that hospital television service was lacking all across the country,” said Bebo, who explained that Careflix is the first service of its kind nationwide. “We got in touch with nearby Riddle Memorial Hospital and suggested the idea of essentially putting a video store in the hospital lobby, which services nurses and other staff as well as patients.”
Careflix set up a kiosk at Riddle, complete with new release DVDs and portable Toshiba DVD players. For a fee of $10 per day, patients can rent the seven-inch video screen and two movies; a player and unlimited movies costs $15.
One of the draws of the service is its accessibility. Bedridden patients simply dial an internal hospital extension, make their selection and wait for the Careflix Mobile Movie Cart to deliver their player and movie to their bedside.
The service’s convenience is also a major plus for nurses.
“Nurses are so busy that it’s sometimes a pain to stop at the video store to pick up or drop off a video,” Bebo said. “With our service, they can stop in the lobby on their way out and take home three movies for $10 for the entire weekend—cheaper than the video store. This has proven very popular.”
Of all of its benefits, Bebo said patient satisfaction is of utmost importance.
“The response from patients has been very positive,” he said. “And when the patients are happy and occupied, it makes the nurses’ jobs easier.”
Bebo explained that patients’ families could consider video rentals as useful gifts in place of flowers. Guests can also rent the systems to view movies during visiting hours.
Based on the success of the pilot program, Bebo said the company is ready to provide the Careflix service to large and small hospitals nationwide, either in conjunction with the hospital’s gift shop or auxiliary or through an independent kiosk at no cost to the facility.
“One of the strongest points of Careflix is that it’s cost efficient for the hospital,” Bebo said. “Instead of spending hundreds of thousands of dollars upgrading television systems, we’d rather hospitals use that money to hire more nurses or purchase medical equipment. The hospital exists to provide medical care, not television. That’s where we come in.”
For more information, visit the Careflix Web site.
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