For Dr. Heder, as for many physicians, patient education is a major part of each patient visit. "Out of a typical office visit, I probably spend a third of the time giving direct patient education." Before streaMed, he supplemented this direct education with text handouts collected from a variety of sources.

During the course of the day, Dr. Heder would be five or ten minutes behind schedule with each of his patients, and a full hour behind by the end of the day. With streaMed, Dr. Heder's nurse now shows patients a video in the exam room, freeing her to do other things. And Dr. Heder no longer has to personally deliver standard educational information on topics such as diabetes and antibiotic use. "There have been several very positive encounters where the patient watched the video first, and when I entered the room, I could see a significant improvement in the office visit."

Dr. Heder appreciates how streaMed improves patients' satisfaction with the service they receive. "I think the patients sense that we are trying to help them more overall, that we are trying harder to serve them."

When his colleagues hear about streaMed, Dr. Heder believes they'll want to adopt it in their own practices. "This is a neat idea with a lot of potential for saving time and improving customer service."