Is Your Hospital Smart? Technology and the Future of Healthcare
What is a smart hospital?
A smart hospital is one in which healthcare is decentralized and patient-focused, but more to the point, smart hospitals take full advantage of the latest in healthcare technology. In a smart hospital, patient care is more efficient, and patients have more information and healthier outcomes. Innovative healthcare technologies include:
Analytics and data collection. Data — collected, analyzed, and utilized in real time — helps with building and equipment maintenance, patient monitoring, and more efficient patient care.
Digital connectivity between locations. Medical information from disparate care providers, specialty service centers, and patients themselves is gathered, centralized, and available to distribute to those who need it to guarantee the best possible patient outcomes.
Automation. From processing prescriptions in the pharmacy to delivering medicine, food, and linens, processes and procedures that can be automated, should be, so staff are free to perform more complex, cognitive tasks with a focus on patient care.
Patient-focused care. Accessible, real-time data, electronic health records, telehealth services, automation of routine tasks, and transparency are prioritized to guarantee quality patient care.
Smart hospital tech
The defining factor of a smart hospital is the technology used to make it smart. Tech can range from automated pharmacy software to actual robots delivering food and disinfecting rooms. Technology designed to improve efficiency, allow for the real-time collection and distribution of relevant data, and respond quickly to patient needs contributes to the “smart” designation for healthcare facilities.
Smart tech sometimes takes unexpected forms. Connected lighting systems, such as Trellix Locate, integrate with your facility’s internet of things (IoT) platform to optimize data collection and analysis with real time locating system (RTLS) functionality. The RTLS gathers real-time, actionable data on staff and asset location for more comprehensive and efficient management to:
Improve patient safety and experience. Locate patients, staff, and equipment quickly, analyze workflows for efficiency improvements, and reduce or eliminate bottlenecks for quicker turnaround and a seamless patient experience.
Prevent infection. Monitor patient, staff, and equipment interactions in real time, enable contact tracing, and reduce hospital acquired infections.
Locate assets in real time. Pinpoint equipment location on an integrated digital floor plan, gather and analyze usage data, generate comprehensive reports, and even send and receive asset-based notifications.
Improve storage conditions. Promote infection control, customize rules and alerts to receive notifications in case of environmental changes, automate and streamline regulatory compliance tasks.
Optimize facility management. Leverage your RTLS to increase productivity, improve safety and security, utilize assets more efficiently, make informed decisions, and improve patient experience and outcomes.
Why do we need smart hospitals?
Technology typically looks impressive, but the real question is whether an innovation’s benefits outweigh its costs — because tech is also frequently expensive to implement and may require a period of adjustment for hospital personnel. In most cases, the benefits of smart technology make them worth the investment. Some benefits include:
Smart hospitals provide higher quality care and faster response with real-time alerts and data sharing.
No-touch smart tech saves staff time and creates a more sterile environment — reducing hospital acquired infections.
Patients are more informed about their diagnosis, treatment options, prognosis, and recovery process.
Automated record-keeping is more accurate and efficient.
Real-time data, more available staff, and a more sterile environment improve patient outcomes, increase reimbursements, and reduce penalties.
While initially expensive, smart technologies lower operating costs over time — saving money in the long term.
Smart hospitals are the future of healthcare. Implementing and integrating innovative technology improves healthcare systems and patient outcomes. For more information on smart hospitals — and the technology behind them — visit TRLSystems.com or contact sgranillo@TRLSystems.com.