There is a stronger commitment to advanced technology tools as acute-care providers strive to become more resilient and digitalise the patient journey, according to a new global report from Zebra Technologies Corporation called “Smarter, More Connected Hospitals”.

The report found that 89 per cent of executive decision-makers and 83 per cent of clinicians surveyed agree that real-time intelligence is essential for optimal patient care, and hospitals are increasingly investing in clinical mobility tools, real-time location systems and intelligent workflow solutions to support smarter, more connected workflows.

However, more than two-thirds of hospital executives still don’t feel their organisations are investing enough to maximize staff efficiency and more must be done moving forward.

“With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic testing the resiliency of our healthcare systems here in Southeast Asia, there is now an even greater need for healthcare providers to embrace technological innovations to better support the needs of clinicians and patients,” said Christanto Suryadarma, Southeast Asia (SEA) Sales Vice President, Zebra Technologies Asia Pacific.

About two-thirds of executives acknowledged that physicians and caregivers are overextended during their shifts and spend too much time locating medical equipment and supplies.

Over half report their administrative staff is equally overburdened and unable to complete their work during their shift. With people’s safety and well-being always the top priority, hospital executives are turning to technology to help combat fatigue, reduce errors caused by manual processes and workarounds, and refocus clinicians’ time on patients.

“Location technologies and intelligent automation solutions are designed to help hospital administrators identify and eliminate workflow inefficiencies throughout the patient treatment process. Having the ability to identify, track, locate and monitor the condition of every patient, staff and asset is thus essential to improving front-line clinician workflows and providing quality patient care,” added Suryadarma.

The majority of respondents, about 84 per cent, believe the quality of patient care would improve if nurses, physicians and non-clinical healthcare workers had access to collaboration tools and the convenience of using their mobile devices to access healthcare applications.

Most hospital executives expect to have devices deployed across nearly all staff types in the next five years. However, the focus now is on nurses assigned to emergency departments, critical and intensive care units (ICU), and operating rooms as well as those responsible for IT, supply chain/inventory management and patient transport.

“Unexpected global developments such as the COVID-19 pandemic has only accelerated the evolution of healthcare ecosystems. As hospitals embrace technological innovations, they must ensure that they are plugged into the right information systems, connected to one another and work together as a cohesive ecosystem. Equipping each front-line staff with a clinical mobile device in hand is the first step in pursuing a new level of efficiency in patient care,” added Ong.

Zebra’s “Smarter, More Connected Hospitals” global report was conducted via an online survey among more than 500 senior-level hospital leaders within the clinical, IT, and procurement disciplines. The study’s goal was to better understand the role of technology in acute care hospitals. — VNS