Improving patient experience and education on congenital heart defects: the evolving role of digital heart models, 3D-printing and mobile application.

Background: Effective counseling and good communication are vital to adequately educate families on congenital heart disease (CHD) anatomy, prognosis, and surgical options. In addition, families desire to have easy access to reliable sources of information to further educate themselves and their social networks. Advanced digital and 3D printing technology has enabled the creation of CHD-specific visual aids aimed at improving patient-physician communication and enhancing the patient-family experience. Objective: To determine ambulatory CHD patient family/caregiver response to new tech-based counseling utilizing 3D printed hearts and …