How hospitals can benefit from connected technology

By using data analytics, computational design and other data aggregation tools along with traditional planning and design architecture methods, facility owners and operators can be confident that their new, or renovated, facilities are utilizing every square foot and are There is a quantifiable measure of their desired outcomes, whether those outcomes are better throughput, minimizing walks or sustainability goals.

Using Data to Influence Design

Using data analytics, analysts can obtain information about how patients interact with their healthcare facilities to renovate healthcare facility spaces, Improve patient experience and operations. For example, data on wait times and workflow can show whether waiting rooms are inefficient for a particular facility. The facility or project team can then look at how to modify the building plans to address these issues and improve patient flow, such as placing more support areas near patient treatment rooms in the emergency department or other high-volume patient care areas.

By using data analytics, computational design and other data aggregation tools along with traditional planning and design architecture methods, facility owners and operators can be confident that their new, or renovated facility is making the most of every square foot and have a quantifiable measure of their desired outcomes, whether those outcomes are better throughput, minimizing walks or sustainability goals.

Sustainability

Many healthcare clients invest in reducing their facilities’ energy consumption and carbon emissions. On the technology side, owners can deploy lighting controls to individual fixtures or lights, allowing low-traffic areas to be darkened or minimally illuminated to reduce energy consumption. Through daylighting and other measures such as LED/Power over Ethernet (PoE) lighting, facilities can significantly reduce their lighting energy load.

In order for all these systems to deliver value, a robust IT infrastructure such as Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi 6, and possibly a cloud-based computing platform must be established to minimize facility On-site data center floor space, which is expensive to build and maintain. Concentrating some computing needs to the cloud can also help achieve sustainability goals, as large cloud data centers are more energy efficient than most on-site data centers.

Technology Upgrade Planning

In the field of health care, there are fewer technologies that are developing faster than diagnostic and treatment technologies. When designing and building a new facility, it is important to create flexible spaces and provide adjacent, utility and structural support for expansion or future changes.

It is not uncommon to update large imaging systems, including MRI or CT scans, within the timeline of the design and construction phases of a project. Additionally, procurement flexibility is a key tool to ensure adoption of the latest technologies. Scheduling procurement activities to allow for the last responsible moment is a common approach to maximizing technological advances during the facility design and construction phases.

Connecting patients and doctors, wherever they are

As hospitals across the country undergo renovations to upgrade their infrastructure and patient experience, a common theme is emerging: fewer hospital beds. Health systems are incorporating more outpatient services and finding ways to bring care into the home through technology, which can also help reduce costs and improve the patient experience.

Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, virtual care and command centers will enable healthcare systems to bring healthcare to homes, allowing doctors to easily communicate with patients and provide real-time analysis of their conditions. These technologies could allow medical professionals to do more away from facilities while increasing patient-provider interactions beyond the current sporadic events, including ultrasound devices plugged into cellphones.

Designed with Artificial Intelligence in Mind

Our team is rapidly adopting advanced technology to help doctors analyze patients in new ways. For example, X-ray analysis software can identify problems before a radiologist even looks at the screening.

While the human eye will remain important, diagnostic analysis will be enhanced and may even be replaced by computational analysis and modeling. This new approach may lead to new approaches to facility design in which patients and physicians interact virtually during the diagnostic phase but rely on face-to-face interaction during the treatment phase. Treatment areas in facilities may need to increase capacity or extend operating hours to avoid potential case congestion.

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