Holistic integration key to better healthcare solutions

In the fast-paced environment of a modern hospital, one small mistake can mean the difference between life and death. Around Australia, this scenario is one that clinicians and management struggle with on a daily basis.

Integrated technologies are helping to liberate nursing staff from administrative duties, allowing them to focus more on patient-centric care, resulting in better outcomes.

The role of integration in health care

An integrated healthcare infrastructure can help to provide the transparency needed to resolve problems before they occur by providing a constant stream of real-time system data. By sharing information, the systems form an intelligent infrastructure that can be configured to generate automatic responses to preset criteria.

Complex data analysis, such as keeping costs under control and allocating resources, can be completed accurately and quickly by integrated computer programming, bringing together data from a range of sources to create a holistic view of hospital workings. By allowing AI and algorithms to control this information, hospitals can run more efficiently, and clinical staff can focus on patient care outcomes.

Building a better workflow

As Australia moves towards a fully digitised system of medical records, and hospitals face ever increasing cost pressures, hospital administrators and clinicians cannot overlook the potential which an integrated digital system could have on their overall efficiencies and outcomes.

To realise the full benefit of healthcare system integration, stakeholders from a range of departments — procurement, project management, facility management, IT and clinical care — need to understand the benefits of what integrated technology can do.

Case study: Moorfields Eye Hospital

At Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, UK, Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure for Healthcare solution has provided an integrated system that supplies reliable power and efficiency, as well as screens in patient rooms and operating theatres to show doctors everything they need to know during the operation. Real-time location system tagging is used at the hospital to track various people and items. The system has also been used with patients so administrators can see exactly how patients move through the facility. Gaining insight into where and how long patients spend their time is vital to improving patient experiences with the intent to reduce wait times.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/metamorworks