Shannon Olson and daughter Emilia check out the girl’s medical chart on a tablet provided by Geisinger Janet Weis Children's Hospital. “It made it so much easier knowing that all of Emilia’s updated chart information was available to me on the tablet,” Olson said. (Marc Stempka)

An increasing number of hospitals are offering “interactive patient-care systems” — a tablet with controls and apps patients can use, including one with access to their hospital medical information. Physicians and health care researchers report that patients using these systems are more engaged in their care and miscommunications about medical records are reduced.