Smart automated hospital rooms can boost patient experience in India

The role of a modern-day healthcare provider isn’t just limited to curing patients, but managing resources efficiently, enhancing patient satisfaction, reducing operational costs, optimising workflows and facilitating collaboration. With so many duties to fulfil, it isn’t surprising that healthcare providers are turning towards “smart” technology to manage their responsibilities efficiently. One such example of smart technology is the in-patient room automation system.  

Automated rooms in hospitals fully leverage digital connectivity and innovative technologies to elevate the entire quality of healthcare through an improved patient experience. Leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI), IoT and Machine Learning (ML) they enable effective and timely patient communication that further leads to proactive and accurate patient monitoring. Creating connected healthcare both inside and outside the facility, these automated patient rooms are what will define the future of healthcare worldwide.  

Unveiling of AI-enabled Integrated Patients Room 

In its latest offering, Healthnet Global launched an in-patient room automation system that serves as a one-stop solution to meet every patient’s non-medical needs through voice commands and mobile applications. The system not just enhances patients’ stay experience; it lowers energy consumption as well as improves operational effectiveness. Through voice and touch commands, patients can easily control lights inside the room and electric appliances. Additionally, motion sensors are included in the washroom for energy savings and patient safety. The bed handrails are also equipped with AI sensors that instantly send notifications to nurses to ensure better patient safety.  

The company also introduced Enhanced Care program in association with Apollo Hospitals Group to cater to medical needs of the admitted patients. The program enables accurate and continuous monitoring of a patient’s vitals like heart rate, respiratory rate, and other parameters with an AI-enabled triaging system without getting into contact with the patient.  

Through cloud-based technology and AI-enabled triaging system, doctors can monitor hundreds of patients through a mobile phone app or web-based dashboard. Keeping patient experience at its core, the automated system also allows patients and attendants one-stop access to different room services like nursing, food and beverage, housekeeping and feedback.   

Elevating the Overall Healthcare Experience 

Considering the acute shortage of adequate healthcare facilities and medical personnel in the country, there is immense potential for such smart in-patient rooms to bring about a paradigm shift in the present healthcare system. Here’s how they can help: 

Better Care: Patients get more fulfilling and timely care since these systems enable accurate and real-time time monitoring through remote systems.  

Makes Patients Feel Empowered: Apart from the constant, real-time monitoring, patients are provided easy communications tools and touch and voice command systems that make them feel satisfied and content with the care they receive. This brings more confidence to their treatment schedules and helps them get well sooner.  

Automation: Since the system is governed by automated processes and the smart interaction between different systems, manual interventions are reduced which further reduces the chances of manual errors. It also reduces the risk of infection among patients and healthcare staff as patients can be well-cared for with remote monitoring systems.  

Optimising Resources: Since most of the work is done by automated systems, in-patient automated rooms reduce the labour-intensive task burden on the healthcare staff. This allows better optimisation of healthcare staff within the hospital.  

The Way Ahead 

As an enhanced patient experience continues to contribute toward faster and better healing, it has become imperative for modern-day hospitals to create a setting where patients feel satisfied and recover quickly. Integrated patient rooms powered by AI, ML and IoT are one of the best ways to increase patient satisfaction and help address the issue of lack of medical personnel in the country. For those who wish to transform the experience, accuracy, speed and quality of healthcare, smart automated hospital rooms will surely be the way forward in the near future.  

Vikram Thaploo

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Vikram Thaploo is the chief executive officer of Apollo Telehealth.