Smart wearables were used in the world’s largest heart-health research project to screen 10 thousand people of suspected atrial fibrillation with a 94% accuracy. The study, conducted by Huawei technologies, shows the impact smart technology can have in the healthcare sector.
In the study, smart wearable devices collected heart signals from consenting subjects to detect abnormal heart rhythms. The devices would send the data to a cloud server where AI would notify medical management through a shared platform.
Smart technology and digital transformation in healthcare are already changing the way patients are treated with services like telehealth, remote care, and health monitoring technology which connects patients and doctors like never before.
If you’d like to learn how your healthcare organization can accelerate its digital transformation and build a roadmap to do it, download Impact's Fast-Tracking Your Digital Transformation eBook now.
What Is Smart Technology and Digital Transformation in Healthcare?
Smart technology refers to devices that make use of AI, the Internet, connectivity to the cloud, and more modern functionalities that they previously did not have.
A few examples of smart technology in healthcare are smart beds that can track patient movements and alert nurses when a patient leaves the bed, or an inventory management system powered by AI that can track and monitor inventory, and then automatically order new supplies when necessary.
Let’s explore five examples of smart tech in healthcare that enhance the patient experience, improve proactive care procedures, and ultimately create a healthier world.
1. Remote Monitoring and Automated Healthcare Systems
Remote monitoring of patients’ healthcare is a growing trend that goes beyond traditional healthcare and into mainstream culture. Smartwatches and fitness trackers have become standard for many people, monitoring health factors like heart rate, blood oxygen, irregular heartbeat monitoring, and more.
In healthcare, providers are turning to devices to help patients by continuously monitoring their conditions and making proactive care choices based on data trends and predictions.
For example, connected inhalers are a smart technology in healthcare that saves lives by helping patients track usage and by reminding them when to take a dosage to maintain a healthy schedule.
66% of asthma deaths could have been prevented with smart technology monitoring like connected inhalers.
There are several wearable items or devices healthcare providers and patients can take advantage of to improve overall healthcare, including:
- Biosensors
- Smart thermometers
- Connected inhalers
- Smart watches
- Fitness trackers (FitBits)
- ECG monitors
- Blood pressure monitors
Wearable biosensors are another technology used in hospitals. These allow providers across the world to monitor patients and administer proactive care. These sensors are worn on the body and monitor vital health signs like temperature and heart rate to give healthcare providers more information and insights on the progression of diseases, illnesses, and overall health.
These biosensors helped the world track the spread of COVID-19 by monitoring patients to detect symptoms and other signs of the virus. Medical staff could monitor patient data thanks to the devices and avoid unnecessary exposure.
2. Telehealth and Remote Care
Up to 78% of patients reported feeling satisfied about their experience with telehealth services. Additionally, 68% of physicians say they’d like to increase the use of telehealth in their practice.
Many of us are now familiar with telehealth, which became a popular choice for healthcare providers and patients during the pandemic. With the help of conferencing technology, providers could virtually treat patients over video call, provide prescriptions, and perform follow-up visits.
Part of this virtual care was the use of medical portal technology to build secure online healthcare portals to help providers and patients track treatment, store health records, and collect and access data from wearable devices or clinic visits.
While the use of telehealth and remote care became prevalent after the onset of the Covid pandemic, it is clear that both patients and practitioners have found benefits in the use of this technology and hospitals will continue to use it.
“Telemedicine significantly decreased odds of ICU mortality.” – Critical Care Medicine
3. Connected Emergency Response Solutions
Connectivity can greatly improve the efficiency and response times of emergency care, something that can be the difference between life and death. With modern healthcare smart technology, it’s possible to share data between ambulances, physicians, first responders, and accident and emergency departments in a reasonable amount of time that facilitates real-time responses.
This technology enables faster communication, video calls with doctors from inside ambulances, quicker patient histories, and easier hospital admittance with history and conditions already established.
On arrival, doctors can already have patient data on-hand—including vital signs, blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, etc.
4. Smart Hospital Management
Smart hospital management can help improve efficiency and effectiveness, improve patient experience, and help doctors by connecting digital systems to make it easier to access information like bed occupancy, device usage, equipment status, materials and supply counts, and other operational data.
Tracking this information and using it in decision-making can improve resource management, reduce waste, and help hospital staff avoid not having what’s needed due to bad tracking or incorrect data collection.
Smart hospitals are going to play an incredibly important role in the future of healthcare using a series of sophisticated technologies such as AI, the Internet of Things (IoT), and telehealth.
The IoT
In the realm of smart hospitals and digital transformation in healthcare, the Internet of Things serves as a driving force. By allowing medical devices and sensors to communicate with one another, hospitals gain real-time insights into patient health. This facilitates something we covered earlier, remote patient monitoring, allowing healthcare providers to track vital signs, manage chronic conditions, and intervene proactively.
Additionally, IoT streamlines hospital operations by optimizing asset tracking – ensuring medical equipment availability and functionality. Energy management is also improved, with IoT systems self-regulating energy consumption for cost-efficiency.
Lastly, patient flow within the hospital is also enhanced as IoT-enabled systems track movements, minimizing wait times and improving overall operational efficiency.
IoT forms the foundation for smart hospitals, fostering connectivity and data exchange for better patient care and operational excellence.
AI
Artificial Intelligence stands at the forefront of innovation, and smart hospitals are no exception. AI's capacity to analyze vast datasets expedites diagnostic processes, aiding healthcare professionals in making accurate and timely decisions.
This technology also powers predictive analytics that enable the identification of potential health risks, giving patients more preventative care options. On the patient-experience side of things, AI-driven chatbots and virtual assistants enhance patient engagement, providing instant responses to queries, appointment scheduling, and very basic advisory ability.
On the administrative front, AI automates tasks like billing and data entry, streamlining operations. This not only frees up valuable time for healthcare providers but also contributes to a more efficient and patient-centric healthcare environment.
AI plays the role of the cognitive powerhouse here, augmenting healthcare capabilities and improving outcomes across the board.
MHealth
Mobile Health (MHealth) is a pillar when it comes to patient-centric care in smart hospitals. With the widespread popularity of smartphones, MHealth applications empower patients to actively participate in their well-being.
Remote patient monitoring becomes seamless, as individuals can track health metrics and share real-time data with healthcare providers. Telehealth services also walk hand-in-hand with MHealth as the two facilitate one another.
Health and wellness apps on mobile devices offer personalized fitness tracking, nutritional guidance, and mental health support, promoting preventive care. Plus, MHealth allows patients to more easily manage their medication and prescriptions.
By making certain aspects of healthcare more readily accessible, MHealth transforms healthcare into a personalized and accessible experience, extending beyond the hospital walls.
Telehealth
Telehealth, a key component of smart hospitals, redefines communication in healthcare through digital transformation and improved technologies. The primary advantage telehealth brings to the table is the ability to overcome geographical constraints, ensuring healthcare access to a broader population.
Through video consultations and remote monitoring, telehealth enhances patient-physician interactions, facilitating timely interventions and reducing the need for physical hospital visits. The cost-efficiency of telehealth is evidenced by reduced travel expenses and optimized resource utilization.
Telehealth can also benefit patients managing chronic disease through regular virtual check-ins, personalized care plans, and daily reminders.
Additionally, telehealth serves a critical role in emergency situations, providing quick access to medical advice. Ultimately, telehealth fosters healthcare accessibility, efficiency, and continuity beyond traditional healthcare settings.
Extended Reality (AR and VR)
Extended Reality (AR and VR) technologies offer immersive and innovative solutions in smart hospitals and in training the future of healthcare professionals.
In medical training, AR overlays digital information onto the real world, creating realistic simulations for surgical procedures and enhancing the learning experience. VR, on the other hand, provides a completely immersive environment, beneficial for pain management during medical procedures and rehabilitation exercises.
The visual and interactive nature of AR and VR technologies also largely aid in surgical planning, offering surgeons a detailed and three-dimensional view. These technologies not only enhance professional education but also contribute to patient care experiences by minimizing pain and improving engagement in rehab processes.
AR and VR bring immersive and interactive experiences that enhance medical operations, healthcare education and training, and the patient experience.
Blockchain
Blockchain technology introduces a layer of security and transparency to healthcare data management in smart hospitals. It ensures the integrity of patient records through its decentralized and tamper-resistant nature, safeguarding against unauthorized access and data manipulation.
Interoperability is enhanced as blockchain facilitates secure sharing of health information across disparate systems, promoting seamless collaboration. In supply chain management, blockchain is employed to trace the authenticity and distribution of pharmaceuticals and medical devices, ensuring transparency.
Smart contracts, automated and secure agreements facilitated by blockchain, streamline processes like insurance claims and billing, reducing administrative complexities.
Blockchain reinforces data security, interoperability, and efficiency, contributing to the trustworthy and streamlined operation of smart hospitals. Although, it’s worth noting that HIPAA regulations also play a major role in data security among healthcare organizations.
5. AI in Healthcare
As mentioned above, AI will be a major player in smart hospitals, but this technology can also help providers make more informed decisions and greatly improve patient care with proactive care predictions, quicker data analysis, and accelerated diagnosis.
Using trained AI to recognize and diagnose certain diseases within test results can greatly increase the number of patients being processed and diagnosed (in some cases, 4x as quickly), reducing wait times significantly.
Wrapping Up on Smart Technology and Digital Transformation in Healthcare
The healthcare industry is in the midst of a total metamorphosis driven by smart technology and digital transformation.
Smart tech and digital transformation in healthcare are paving the way into the future and flipping the whole game on its head. With more monitoring, higher accessibility, and a wider variety of treatment options available, physicians can use AI-powered data analysis, smart monitors, and other innovative tools and technologies that promote a more proactive, data-driven approach to healthcare.
Taking a more proactive, preventative, and data-driven approach to healthcare services will translate to real lives being saved every single day.
To explore in-depth the journey healthcare and other types of organizations take to digitize their environments and become future-ready, download Impact's Fast-Tracking Your Digital Transformation eBook now.
