Aligning People, Process, and Technology to Design the Hospital Room of the Future
During a recent webinar discussion, leaders from OhioHealth shared three key factors that led to the successful implementation of the Vibe Health smart room platform at their new facility, including the steps they took to meet the unique needs of their end users.
Designing the hospital of the future involves many unknowns; however, adopting smart room technology presents immense opportunity to streamline clinical workflows and enhance patient experience. On December 6, 2023, OhioHealth opened the new Pickerington Methodist Hospital, the first hospital in central Ohio to offer advanced in-room technology.
The state-of-the-art smart room design at OhioHealth includes a Smart TV, digital whiteboard, and bedside tablet inside the patient room, as well as a digital door sign outside each patient room. The goal of this technology is clear: simplify communication between patients, families, and the care team, while also bringing the comforts of home to the bedside. Read on to learn about OhioHealth's smart room journey.
1. Focusing on each end-user experience brings ideas to reality.
When OhioHealth leadership first started conceptualizing what a smart room might look like in their facility, Erika Braun, User Experience Advisor and Tom Gutman, Simulation Technology Lead knew they wanted to create a space that honored the patient and the caregiver experience with optimized technology and workflows.
Starting with the end-users in mind and studying unique pain points informed the design team on what action they needed to take to mitigate clinical burden while improving patient experience. Erika gathered detailed staff surveys and embarked on in-depth job shadowing with individuals in a variety of roles to experience and understand where technology could lift workflow inefficiencies. Conversations with patients and their families helped fine-tune and prioritize where technology could step in and where it could be tweaked to deliver an overall better experience.
Carefully considering the “day in the life” of all end-users helped the OhioHealth team determine where their greatest needs lie. In collaboration with the team at eVideon, OhioHealth was able to optimize the configuration of the Vibe Health platform to meet the needs of their staff and patients. The collaborative nature of this partnership has allowed OhioHealth to innovate while remaining agile as needs arise. Keeping a people-first approach throughout the design process pushes the technology beyond a conceptual stage and into a functional reality.
2. Optimizing workflow empowers everyone.
Each smart room integration is unique to the health system. This is why it is critical for both hospital leaders and the solution projects to remain flexible and nimble throughout the course of the project.
Establishing a test environment helps end-users understand how it will look, feel, and operate after go-live. Throughout the design process, it’s important to put the technology in front of clinical staff, offering a mock environment where they can gain insight into how it will enhance their day-to-day.
Erika and Tom described their partnership as foundational to OhioHealth’s success amid this project. Establishing a command center comprised of expert vendors and IT who are familiar with the technology is imperative. Partners who are ready and willing to jump in and assist throughout go-live builds a foundation for trust and empowers leaders like Tom and Erika to support their team members throughout the transition. Ultimately, upskilling and training is key to encouraging fluent use of the smart room platform while offering top-of-line experience to patients and their families.
3. Leveraging technology leads to improved outcomes.
Modernizing your health system yields positive results for all. While nurses have more time for direct patient care, professional development and much-needed breaks, patients benefit from access to real-time information and increased autonomy.
Using the integration between Vibe Health and OhioHealth’s real-time location services (RTLS), patients are notified when a staff member or clinician enters their room via a pop-up message on their TV screen. This small, yet powerful communication method helps patients and their families stay in the loop, building trust and creating more meaningful interactions between patients and the care team.
Additionally, smart room integrations can further enhance the human connection by automating manual tasks for nurses, allowing them to spend more time with their patients. Using the integration between Vibe Health and Epic (OhioHealth’s EHR), nurses can automatically assign patient education directly to the patient’s TV or bedside tablet and completion is auto-documented back to the EHR. Taking advantage of this technology is key to driving efficiency while keeping the patient at the heart of care.
Vibe Health is your partner in smart room technology.
No matter where your health system starts in the smart room design process, Vibe Health by eVideon serves as a valuable partner for navigating the complex role technology plays in creating better outcomes. Watch the on demand video of our webinar titled “Smart Hospital Design Considerations - Aligning People, Process, and Technology” to learn more about OhioHealth’s integration of smart room technology and see for yourself how eVideon can brings the hospital room of the future to reality today.
Contact us today to take a personalized tour of the Vibe Health smart room platform!
