The prescription for smart hospital success

Across the whole of the built environment, hospitals are arguably the facilities that host the most complex array of functions. The sheer variety of different interactions between employees and patients – and the range of equipment and environmental factors that are needed to facilitate those interactions – means that they can be more challenging to manage than any other kind of building. In theory, this means that hospitals stand to make the greatest gains from the advent of digitalisation. Automated data analysis and the integration of smart technology bring huge potential to deal with both the big-picture operational challenges and the minute-by-minute interactions that are crucial to efficiently delivering excellent patient care.

By utilising operational data and developing actionable solutions, digitalisation can deliver efficiencies across the full breadth of processes required for a hospital to run. Patient expectations are increasing, and more look towards the private healthcare providers, where digitalisation is more mature than in the public sector, offering ‘digital front doors’ for a seamless check-in, single person rooms, and the ability for patients to determine their own environment for lighting, temperature, and entertainment. Information about the facility is also readily on hand. 

Staff productivity can also be boosted by streamlining workflows and asset management, cutting the administrative burden on employees, and reducing time wasted by searching for equipment, rooms, or people. Meanwhile, Facilities managers can take better care of their assets by implementing data-based security protocols that prevent access by unauthorised individuals, minimise fire and environmental hazards, and help secure medical equipment and critical supplies against theft. Condition-based monitoring of critical plant enables foresight of potential failures, and enables routine maintenance to be prioritised.