Digital video recording in the inpatient setting: a tool for improving care experiences and efficiency while decreasing waste and cost.

The need to significantly improve patient centeredness and efficiency, while reducing waste and cost, in health care is an area of focus for health policy leaders. We employed digital video recording on a postsurgical inpatient unit as a method of understanding care delivery through the eyes of patients, families, and caregivers. Key findings of the study included identification of the total number of staff (by function)-to-patient contacts and the percentage of time patients spent in their room during recovey.