For a long time, the healthcare industry drew criticism from the public due to administrative inefficiencies and lack of quality care. Today, healthcare practitioners are able to do things that they weren’t able to before, thanks to technology advancements and data from various sensors, including those from security devices such as RFID readers and IP cameras.
For a long time, the healthcare industry drew criticism from the public due to administrative inefficiencies and lack of quality care. Today, healthcare practitioners are able to do things that they weren’t able to before, thanks to technology advancements and data from various sensors, including those from security devices such as RFID readers and IP cameras.
That was the point raised during a recent smart healthcare forum by speakers who came from both healthcare and IT backgrounds. According to them, back in the days when everything was done manually including writing patient data on paper, there wasn’t much that could be done. But now that everything is computerized and digitized, healthcare experts have more tools at hand to improve service and patient care.
Rena Chiu, Manager at Syscom Computer Engineering, cited her company’s solution being deployed at healthcare facilities, where RFID tags are attached to patients as well as various medical supplies for better tracking and inventorying purposes. The solution would allow a nurse, for example, to know when an IV bag put on a particular patient is about to run out so she can replenish accordingly. The solution also allows doctors doing rounds to know everything they need to know about their patients, whose information – for example what surgery they have received or what medication they are on – is shown on the iPad that they carry.
Smart hospitals
With smart technology, hospitals are smarter than ever. China Medical University Hospital, for example, has launched a mobile app that eases the outpatient visitation experience. The patient, for example, can pre-register before the visit by entering into the app their health information, which will show up on the doctor’s computer during the visit. The status of the doctor’s check-up is also shown on the app on the day of the visit so that the patient can go to the hospital just before his number is called up. “Also during surgery, the status is transmitted to the app so the family does not have to wait anxiously outside the surgery room. They can go get a coffee or something,” said Rong-Lin Yang, director of the hospital’s IT department.
Kwo-Whei Lee, Superintendent of Changhua Christian Medical Foundation Yuanlin Christian Hospital, cited his hospital’s example of turning smart. The hospital was intended to be smart and green from the beginning so it was designed, planned and constructed to that vision accordingly. All data related to HVAC and power/water consumption are monitored and managed centrally to ensure there is no waste in resources. For its dental department, rail tracks are installed on the ceiling to transport dirty surgery equipment and garments; this way the floor would not be contaminated. Patients living in the patient ward are put on sensors that monitor their vital signs; should something go wrong the staff will be informed immediately. The sensors also make sure patients will not wander around and get lost in the process; should they step into areas that they are not supposed to, an alarm will be issued and sent.
Outside hospitals, there are also apps and smart technologies available. Tzu-Chi Dalin General Hospital, for example, showcased its smart wearable device that monitors a person's knee usage as a preventive measure against knee osteoarthritis. After surgery, the hospital also has a solution that allows the doctor to check up and monitor patients who opt to rehabilitate at home.
Product Adopted:Medical