"Digital Hospital" is a term we think we know, or do we? What do international hospital experts think it is? Click for Dr Geissbuhler, Dr Cabrer's answers to:
1. Should every future hospital building be planned as a “digital hospital?”
2. What if a hospital director has no plans to build a new hospital or hospital wing?
Can he or she still create a “digital hospital”?
Antoine Geissbuhler, Professor and Director Service of Medical Informatics Geneva University Hospitals and School of Medicine
1. Should every future hospital building be planned as a “digital hospital?”
Absolutely. The information system has become the nervous system of the hospital, and the full benefits of this move into the information age will be fulfilled when such systems can connect most of the parts of the hospital, similarly to the brain connected to all the parts of the body through the nerves. A digital hospital makes sure that there is a coherent, organized way to implement such connections.
2. What if a hospital director has no plans to build a new hospital or hospital wing?
Can he or she still create a “digital hospital”?
This is what happens most of the time, although the capital costs of “digitizing” an existing hospital are probably higher than building a new one. It is important not to forget that the hardware and software aspects of the digital hospital are only one part of the challenge. The other part, probably more difficult, is the change in culture that a digital hospital enables, and which requires important investments in “peopleware”.
Dr Miguel Cabrer, health IT consultant
1. Should every future hospital building be planned as a “digital hospital?”
Sure, IT is everywhere demonstrating the value. Of course, new buildings for healthcare facilities should take in mind that medical processes can be automated. Including the concept from the conception of the building may affect in some issues for medical samples travelling, linked with an automate CPOE, patient identification an any point of care (RFID), visual screens that show status of the floors, rooms design and functionalities (access to medical records, monitoring patients, etc.). From the engineer perspective the fact of having redundant networking, Wifi, special spaces for hardware, etc.
Indiana Heart Hospital for example designed a circular floors for rooms for better organize the round visits. The benefit from IT perspective was that they just need to put one workstation in the middle for EMR reviewing. The Wifi was also better profit (that was an issue some years ago) and cheaper since the circular anatomy of the floor.
Rooms were also designed to facilitate doctors review and access to Medical information in a fair interaction with patients.
2. What if a hospital director has no plans to build a new hospital or hospital wing? Can he or she still create a “digital hospital”?
Yes, implementing IT is not only a question of building but on a desire to improve the quality and optimize processes. Obviously new infrastructure helps and facilitates the implementation of IT but old buildings can implement the most relevant functionalities that categorized a Digital Hospital.
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Posted by: Antonio Dimitriadis | 11 July 2010 at 15:37