Healthcare, in contrast to other sectors, is slow to innovate. A 2017 research found that the healthcare sector was about ten years behind other industries when it came to adopting customer engagement technology. However, in the last several years, innovation has emerged in healthcare: the hospital command center. In this blog post, we’ll look at what a hospital command center is and why hospitals need to keep innovating.
Hospital Command Centers
A hospital command center may be difficult to define since various institutions use them to achieve varied goals. Urgent Matters, a portal for innovative flow strategies at George Washington University, studied the command centers of several prominent hospitals and discovered that while each was built for a specific function, many common aims emerged. The following are some examples:
- Better patient outcomes
- Increasing flow and efficiency
- Enhancing coordination between hospital facilities
Hospital command centers achieve these fundamental objectives by analyzing real-time patient and facility data. The following are some of the methods by which the command center’s goals are achieved using this data:
- Organizing quality control and care coordination.
- Increasing bed capacity and lowering wait times.
- Coordinating treatment across facilities.
Hospital Command Centers and Innovation
Hospital command centers, like any other section of the hospital, are at the mercy of innovation. The objective of the command center is to enhance patient outcomes, operational efficiency, and inter-facility coordination. These three goals are all related to a better healthcare experience. In addition, innovation might assist hospital command centers in preparing for unforeseen events such as the COVID-19 epidemic.
COVID-19 presented many difficulties for the healthcare industry, resulting in a sudden need for innovation. This innovation primarily focused on capacity management and patient monitoring within hospital command centers. However, if the healthcare industry had been more proactive in implementing new ideas and technologies, hospitals would have struggled less when the pandemic began.
Technology Hospital Command Centers Need
Hospital command centers employ a variety of technical solutions to achieve their objectives. We’ll concentrate on four different sorts of tech, some essential for a hospital command center and others that provide unique development potential. The following four groups classify technologies:
- Business Intelligence Dashboards
- Supply Chain Software
- Remote Monitoring Technology
- Order Management Software
Business Intelligence Dashboards
With data analysis being one of the primary responsibilities of the hospital command center, command center personnel must be able to see essential metrics like wait times and bed utilization in real time. Business intelligence software, particularly business intelligence dashboards, is one of the greatest tools for achieving this. Customizable dashboard solutions are available through which hospitals may improve efficiency. Predictive analytics can also be used with business intelligence dashboards to get helpful information.
Order Management Software
In addition to streamlining workflows and providing ambulatory order transparency, order management software provides other benefits. For example, command centers in hospitals can use this type of software to track orders and predict when they will need more staff members.
Remote Monitoring Technology
The outbreak of COVID-19 has considerably expedited the utilization of new technologies in healthcare, one example being remote monitoring tech. Remote monitors, such as wearables that measure vital signs or cameras and microphones, enable caregivers to assess a patient’s condition without being physically present.
Telehealth is only gaining momentum, and remote monitoring technology will be increasingly important. Staff in the hospital command center may utilize remote monitoring to alert the care team that a patient requires attention. In addition, data obtained by remote monitoring equipment may be used in predictive analytics.
Supply Chain Software
Another vital duty of the hospital command center is keeping an eye on supply levels and predicting future usage. To make this more streamlined, utilize supply chain software. Although it’s always essential, in times of a pandemic, Supply Chain Management (SCM) becomes even more critical. If you want to learn other ways to improve your facility’s SCM system, read about what several health systems learned from COVID-19 and how they plan to enhance their process moving forward.
The hospital command center has played a significant role in remote patient monitoring and care. This has dramatically improved patient care and communication. To continue meeting their goals of improved patient outcomes, flow and efficiency, and inter-facility coordination, hospital command centers must continually evaluate their existing technologies and pursue emerging ones.
Hospital command centers are becoming an increasingly important part of the remote patient monitoring process. Hospitals can improve care while reducing costs by giving healthcare professionals a centralized location to monitor patients. Mr. E.J. Letko is a medical innovator ensuring the future of healthcare by developing and bringing to market new medical technologies that make a difference. Medical innovation and entrepreneurship are the future of healthcare. Visit our website today for more information on medical technology and entrepreneurship.
