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By Sean Caragata
The rise of “smart” buildings has attracted attention across the healthcare industry for its ability to create optimized use of space, a better experience for patients and clinicians, more sustainable operations, and tighter physical and cyber security. In fact, a recent report pegs the global market for smart buildings – across all industries – at nearly $110 billion by 2025, while the market for smart hospitals alone could reach $63 billion by 2024.
Amidst this evolution is a realization of what smart hospitals can deliver – a conversation now expedited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare institutions were already busy targeting new and better ways to improve patient and clinician experiences when they were suddenly thrust into virtual care models, greater automation of intake and scheduling, remote patient monitoring and, tragically, the need to retrofit spaces to suit more ICU beds.
Healthcare institutions are discovering that these trends will continue, as they are desired by patients, clinicians, or staff, they create more operational efficiencies, and they are necessary for business resiliency to prepare for future emergencies. These areas of focus, along with sustainability and data security, will be permanent fixtures in the healthcare space.
Inside the capabilities of the ‘Fourth Utility’ and ‘Power over Ethernet’
Many conditions from the pandemic have contributed to the rise of smart hospitals – in which a “fourth utility” is purposefully built into the infrastructure from the ground up. Cisco has been working for years on the underlying technology that empowers the smart building concept, in which, alongside water, gas and electricity, technology connects and secures all systems of the hospital within a converged IT / OT network.
These systems can also be powered using low voltage 90 W universal Power over Ethernet (UPOE+) to dramatically reduce the energy consumption and carbon footprint of the building. In this way, the fourth utility can be harnessed to deliver power, drive security, enable data-driven clinical workflows, and connect all hospital systems — from bedside medical devices to LED lights to motorized shades and blinds to HVAC to entry systems to elevators to alarms and alerts.
Additionally, leaders are increasingly looking for ways to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of these often large, complex facilities. A smart hospital is capable of reducing energy consumption and achieving de-carbonization goals through UPOE+ to power building systems that consume low voltage DC power in place of higher voltage AC power.
Improved patient and provider experiences
Smart hospital technology extends to deliver greater experiences for staff, patients, and visitors. Hospitals can be tricky to navigate, but in redesigning them, it’s possible to use campus wireless and digital signage to enable better traffic flow inside often busy hallways and departments. Meanwhile, wayfinding apps on mobile phones offer advanced location technology to help someone quickly find the pharmacy, get from the parking garage to a clinic for follow-up, or find the room where their loved one is staying.
When it comes to patient experience, smart hospitals offer not only more easily navigable facilities but more control to patients, too. For instance, patient room systems can allow patients to manage their window shades, temperature, lighting, and meal orders – all from their bed. These patient amenities also reduce the demands on clinical staff.
Beyond the patient, it’s vital for healthcare institutions to retain their skilled employees in the face of turnover rates that are generally on the rise. According to the Canadian Nurses Association, an average of one in five nurses leaves their job every year, costing a hospital about $25,000 each time. Smart hospitals bring more integrated systems, modern operations, and easier virtual care solutions that are easier to work within. They also help address key frustrations, such as helping pinpoint and secure medical devices or carts in real-time via wireless location services, thereby avoiding the time-consuming effort of hunting them down.
Furthermore, data privacy and cybersecurity in healthcare are already essential, with patient data being highly targeted, cyberattacks on the rise, and the cost of data breaches also increasing. With all of the trends discussed above, it will be even more important to provide end-to-end security, policy, identity, and access controls to block threats, contain intruders, and improve visibility across medical and IoT devices, infrastructure endpoints, building systems, and other IT and OT systems. Smart hospitals can use the fourth utility to protect healthcare systems and patient data from cyberattacks with an integrated, end-to-end security portfolio.
Just as a building starts with a foundation, so too can the building’s systems begin with the fourth utility – technology – that can serve the diverse needs of a smart hospital over a converged architecture. A smart hospital can connect, secure, and power clinical, operational, and business systems, applications, users, and data across physical healthcare facilities for a more automated, adaptable, and sustainable experience. The smart hospital is on the rise today – and it will soon become the expected normal.
For more information, take a look at this case study on the future of smart hospitals.
Sean Caragata is Director Business Development – Industry Partner Strategy, Cisco.