Patent ID: 7769598

Claim:
A method for facilitating patient communications, comprising: providing a healthcare communication system, said healthcare communication system comprising: a patient system comprising a patient video display, and a patient terminal comprising at least one message keys and destination buttons, a plurality of healthcare stations, said plurality of healthcare stations comprising a nurse station remotely located and communicatively linked to the patient terminal for receiving and responding to assistance messages from a patient, and a visitor center remotely located from and communicatively linked to the patient terminal, wherein said destination buttons comprise destination buttons associated with said nurse station and said visitor center; programming each of said at least one message keys with a patient-specific message, said patient-specific message composed by a patient or other person using the healthcare communication system, wherein each message key has a unique identifying indicia on a surface of said message key, said identifying indicia symbolically indicating the patient-specific message, each of said patient destination buttons associated with a location communicatively linked to said healthcare communication system; recording and storing an audio or visual message from a visitor in said visitor center for the patient; and playing the audio or visual message on said patient system when requested by the patient.