Making Your Hospital Stay A Bit More Pleasant: Flat-Screen, Internet, Movies

from the sounds-lovely dept

Hospitals aren't known for having the most accommodating conditions around, but some are trying. Apparently a hospital in New Jersey (of all places) is offering up a special interactive entertainment service to certain patients. The rooms that have the system include a 37-inch flat panel display and a wireless keyboard. The system has internet access and television with certain programming on-demand with TiVo-like features. The hospital says they're trying to make the hospital stay more relaxing for patients and "less clinical." Using the system isn't free, but it's not that expensive either - though pricing depends on the specific institution. The main one described in the article offers internet access for $7.50/day (and if you're just stuck in bed all day, why not pay the $7.50 just to kill the boredom) or $10.50 for a package of four movies that can be viewed over a 24 hour-period (that's a lot of movies for one day). They say the system could also be upgraded to allow video gaming and the ability to order food from the cafeteria. At this rate, they're going to have a lot of patients who never want to go home again.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    OldYeller, 25 Nov 2003 @ 7:29am

    "of all places"?

    Okay, my button has been pushed - why is it surprising to have medical facilities in NJ be trying out advanced ideas?

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 25 Nov 2003 @ 10:15am

    "of all places"?

    Yeah, as long as Tony and his crew got a piece of the action, I don't see why it wouldn't happen

    (sorry...just watched Sopranos last night)

    link to this | view in thread ]

  3. identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 26 Nov 2003 @ 7:21am

    I've got a better idea...

    ...why doesn't a company offer to extend the company hoteled cubicle to your bedside so your lame ass can get some actual work done.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.