Smart hospitals will transform healthcare delivery in New Zealand

FEATURE - Industry Innovation Article - Philips

Across the world, healthcare policy makers and healthcare leaders are under tremendous pressure to address challenges such as acute staff shortages, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, and the rising cost of healthcare. The growing human and financial burden is forcing healthcare leaders to urgently reconsider how and where care is delivered, and the role of technology in driving a more sustainable approach to care delivery.

In fact, according to Philips’ Future Health Index (FHI) 2023 Australian report, almost 92 percent of healthcare leaders are seeking solutions to ease growing financial pressures on their organisations, with technology critical to achieving this. 47 percent of healthcare leaders are already using automation to streamline patient processes while 43 percent are using it to streamline internal processes.

The role of technology in powering a more sustainable healthcare delivery model
Through smart and connected technology, healthcare providers will be empowered to provide healthcare beyond hospital walls, extending care delivery to the patient at home or in the community. This moves much of the care that has traditionally been delivered in hospitals into lower-cost settings that are more accessible and convenient for the patient. New delivery models – including virtual care, mobile care, and walk-in care – will bring healthcare closer to the patient, significantly expanding access to care, especially for underserved communities in remote, hard-to-reach areas.

Over time, this evolution will bring about smart ecosystems of care. Rather than being tied to one location, healthcare will become a distributed network throughout the country. In these smart ecosystems of care, hospitals will continue to play a key role, serving both as a central physical hub and as an orchestrator in the ecosystem. These Smart Hospitals of the Future will be connected to the home and the community through secure digital infrastructures and technologies.

Philips’ five principles to building Smart Hospitals of the Future
Philips has partnered healthcare leaders across the ANZ region to connect people, data, and technology in intelligent ways for better end-to-end care experiences and seamless transitions across care settings. Having worked with some of the region’s leading healthcare providers on their digital transformation strategies, including Nepean Hospital in New South Wales, Australia and the East Metropolitan Health Service in Western Australia, Philips’ approach to building a smart hospital is guided by five key principles:

• Enhancing operational efficiency: Hospital care today is labour-intensive, a significant issue given that hospitals are grappling with workforce shortages and staff burnout. Smart hospitals rely on workflow automation to free HCPs from repetitive tasks that get in the way of providing patient care. At the same time, they use centralized operational insights to forecast and manage patient flow across settings, and to manage the allocation of staff, beds, and medical equipment for optimal resource utilisation.
• Providing clinical excellence: To provide superior specialist and acute and post-acute care, smart hospitals connect patient data across different modalities and systems, turning it into insights that support clinical decision-making at the point of care. As an integrated part of a wider network of care, smart hospitals embrace virtual collaboration and remote patient monitoring to extend the line of sight for HCPs beyond hospital walls.
• Experience-centricity: Consumers want to take a more proactive role in their own care. Smart hospitals should empower patients and their whanau with digital engagement tools throughout their care journey, even before they enter the hospital. The focus should be on creating human-centric care environments that support patient and staff well-being, even under the most stressful conditions.
• Innovation capability: Becoming a smart hospital is as much about organisational and cultural transformation as it is about technology. Smart hospitals develop and embed new organisational capabilities to sustain digital innovation and create a culture of continuous improvement.
• Sustainability: As importantly, digitalisation can help healthcare leaders achieve their organisation’s sustainability goals. For example, virtual health capabilities help to improve the green credentials of hospitals by reducing patient travel. Digitalisation accelerates the more efficient use of resources, reducing a hospital’s environmental footprint. Studies have shown that 84% less power is consumed when customers use large, centralized cloud-based data centres instead of on-premises infrastructure.
  

Transforming the New Zealand healthcare sector through change, integration, and digitalisation
Extending care delivery beyond hospital walls and bringing healthcare closer to the patient will significantly expand equitable access to affordable and quality healthcare. Quality healthcare can be delivered across the care continuum, regardless of location. Secure digital infrastructures and technologies will seamlessly connect the hospital to the home and the community.

The current episodic model of care will evolve into more continuous health management. This will support the growing number of patients living with multiple chronic conditions and enable the shift away from sick care to prevention and healthy living. As care that has traditionally been delivered in hospitals is moved into settings that are more cost-efficient and culturally appropriate, it will have a positive impact on the growing healthcare costs that many countries in the world are trying to contain.

At Digital Healthcare Week 2023, Philips showcased its vision for the smart hospital of the future and the innovations that power this future. The company’s vision of the smart hospital is one that is highly flexible and adaptive to evolving needs and circumstances. It combines high tech with high touch to deliver superior care when and where it is needed. Most importantly, it is always centered around the patient and their whānau.

If you would like to provide feedback on the above feature article please contact the editor Rebecca McBeth.

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