Abstract
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. The use of digital video recording eliminated the impracticality of real-time observation in the inpatient setting and should be considered as a tool for helping to achieve necessary transformation in care delivery.