Automating nonclinical tasks: The case for tech-enabled clinical workflow
Ask any nurse today how he or she spends the majority of an eight-hour shift, and chances are the answer will be the same—lots of nonclinical work. In fact, one report found that nurses spend time on 69 different activities in a single shift, and that up to 15 percent of nurses’ time could be reallocated through care redesign using technology, automation and delegation.
The AVIA 2024 Top Smart Rooms Companies Report supports the concept of leveraging automation to drive efficiency in care, making the case for the use of smart room technology that can seamlessly integrate and automate clinical workflows. The report demonstrates an increased demand for smart room technology that can positively impact the experience for both clinical staff and patients.
As more nurses exit the workforce in droves, as evidenced by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) recent plea for the worldwide shortage of nurses to be treated as a global health emergency, operational excellence and efficiency must become top priorities.
This article outlines three ways hospital smart rooms streamline operations, putting clinicians and patients on the pathway to increased efficiencies and optimal experiences.
1. EHR integration at the forefront of care delivery
It is remarkable to think in 2024 that hospitals are spending from $12 million to $400 million a year on electronic health record (EHR) systems, yet lack integration with other platforms, and even worse, fail to provide training on proper use of the resources. Imagine buying a new vehicle and only being able to figure out the steering and gear shift. You can put the car in park, switch to reverse, and ultimately drive. But you’re unable to benefit from the other integration connections such as navigation, music, telephone, roadside assistance, hands-free steering, and more.
Unfortunately, many hospitals run the same way. They spend countless resources and time choosing the shiniest, fanciest, priciest EHR on the market. This system is “guaranteed” to be the best of the best, but without integration with other platforms—such as smart room capabilities designed to save nurses time—it’s no more useful than a car you can only drive forward, move in reverse, and park.
A recent Accenture study reports that 61% of clinicians claim “lack of interoperability between IT systems” as a critical barrier to adoption. It’s important that hospitals consider the practicality of such implementations and how tools like smart room devices can intersect with them to ultimately strengthen the healthcare experience.
The hospital room is ideally a place for patients to receive care, reset, and re-enter normal life—whatever “normal” means for them. Each piece of equipment in the room needs to tie back to that experience. Is it helping them to receive care, which in turn helps the nurses be more efficient? Is it helping them to reset? Is it helping them to re-enter normal life? If the answer to any of these questions is no, it might be time to revisit why that piece of technology is there in the first place.
The EHR sets the foundation for care delivery, and without it a care experience can quickly turn from good to bad. At eVideon, we go to great lengths to ensure that each of our smart room solutions ties back to the EHR, allowing care teams and patients to access vital information such as key staff members, goals, diet restrictions, and other care considerations—high-risk for falls, memory impairment, etc.
2. Supporting virtual nursing to augment bedside nursing staff
Ongoing staff shortages continue to impact nursing staff, hospitals and patients alike, with 88 percent of nurses reporting a negative impact on patient care. According to SUNY Upstate Medical University, hospitals look to virtual nursing as a potential solution to “address immediate staffing concerns… and create an avenue for seasoned nursing professionals to contribute their wealth of knowledge in novel and impactful ways.” But, to enable virtual nursing, hospitals and health systems need to invest in modern tools, such as smart room technology, to support virtual and bedside nursing staff.
Fortunately, nurses are open to new digital solutions that will help deliver care more efficiently. In this study, 93 percent of clinicians surveyed “agree that applying automation to remedy time-sensitive documentation processes will be beneficial.” The study also indicates that automation supports efforts for nurses to utilize their most valuable skills in patient care. Smart room tools are designed to enhance the relationship between the clinical staff and patients, allowing the clinician more time to treat the patient and offer their best, top-of-the-license expertise.
To support both virtual and bedside nursing staff, smart room technology can be leveraged for activities such as completing admission and discharge paperwork, patient observation and patient education.
Diving into the example of patient education, a 2023 University of Utah study found that “smart patient rooms could revolutionize patient education by fostering better engagement with educational content, reducing interruptions during sessions, providing more agile education content management, and customizing therapy elements for each patient’s unique needs.” Smart room technology can aid significantly through interactive, digestible content that keeps the patient engaged while also aiding in healthcare literacy. And, it frees up the clinical team to serve the patient in other ways that are more vital to treatment and recovery.
One study found that patient education for chronic disease populations (e.g., diabetes, hypertension) in the hospital and community clinic setting resulted in improved patient knowledge and self-management of chronic diseases. This is a big win considering that the leading cause of death in the United States is heart disease, and the country’s leading comorbidities are high blood pressure (53.2%), diabetes (26.4%), and chronic lung disease (20.5%).
At eVideon, we have automated the assignment and documentation of high-quality videos, including hospital-produced content, that displays directly to the patient’s in-room TV. Thanks to EHR integration, each piece of content is catered to the individual patient’s disease or condition.
The same approach is applied to ensure nurses and other clinical staff have the training they need to deploy the smart room technology properly. Our comprehensive Training Program – designed for nurses and led by a clinician – was developed for users of our Vibe Health smart room platform, complete with user-friendly tutorials, self-guided courses, and extensive product documentation resources, all designed with our clinical team partners in mind.
3. Workflows that actually work
Technology is only as good as the fruit it provides for the end users. While hospitals and health systems have various needs that require various levels of engagement/solutions to meet those needs, the ultimate goal is to give them time back in their day to do what they enjoy most—providing care.
Nonclinical tasks as previously highlighted take the lion’s share of time in an eight-hour shift, which is why hospital smart rooms are so needed. By automating tasks like patient education and other nonclinical tasks such as housekeeping and food service requests, clinicians can save steps and return to the true reason why they went to nursing and/or medical school in the first place.
Automation will never replace human empathy, which is vital to a clinician’s success. However, hospitals and health systems that use smart room technology to automate nonclinical tasks will replace the facilities that do not. It’s time to get back to the heart of care—direct care—and free clinicians from the minutiae of mindless paperwork, interruptions, and manual processes that fill much of their days.
Finally, while there’s no easy solution to the nationwide nursing shortage, the operational efficiencies that hospital smart rooms provide are an essential start. The technology in hospital smart rooms is not a Jetson-like idea for the future. Smart room technology is being implemented now in hospital rooms across the country, and clinicians and patients are reaping the rewards firsthand. As you evaluate options for your hospital smart room strategy, carefully consider the three ways hospital smart rooms streamline operations. Your staff and your patients will thank you.
Jeff Fallon is a visionary thinker and strategist who brings more than 30 years of healthcare and technology experience to his role as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of eVideon Health. He has spent his career creating and providing solutions that transform the practice and experience of care for organizations such as Johnson & Johnson and notable patient experience technology companies. He is a passionate champion for technologies that improve the human experience of healthcare for patients and families, as well as the healthcare workforce. Jeff received his undergraduate degree from Duquesne University and earned an executive MBA at the University of Pittsburgh, Katz School of Business. He completed a fellowship in Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School, and he is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE). He is a past member of the Board of Directors for Western Pennsylvania HIMSS chapter.
