Designing for cohesive care environments

Advanced technology can deliver real impact, when hospitals and tech suppliers work together on integration 

The digital hospital is here. From connected patient rooms in smarter buildings to remote care solutions in patient homes, the integration of digital and physical infrastructure is reshaping how care is delivered, how facilities operate, and how patients heal. But how do we ensure investments in advanced technology deliver results that matter? 

Digitalization in healthcare is a panoramic picture 

The future for hospitals is with smart, connected, seamless solutions that integrate critical systems into a single, interoperable platform. Advanced technologies can enable frictionless communication, enhance care delivery and drive operational efficiency. The outcome is a more engaged patient, a more empowered clinical team and a more resilient healthcare ecosystem. 

When implemented effectively, the impact on healthcare outcomes is undeniable.  

• Ambient AI documentation tools saved providers 15,700 hours annually, equivalent to 1,794 working days. 
• The Fall TIPS toolkit reduced falls by 25% and injurious falls by 34% across 37,000 patients in acute care hospitals. 
• Connected MOM program reduced ER visits and improved postpartum care, with participants twice as likely to complete follow-up blood pressure checks. 

These examples show the breadth of solutions available, but let’s start with physical infrastructure. Healthcare design must evolve beyond static workflows and build for flexibility and resilience. Facilities are increasingly being built to support modular and standardized spaces that can adapt to emerging technologies; resilient systems for power and HVAC to ensure uptime and safety; and smart building integration with clinical systems to improve operational efficiency. 

Scalability and interoperability are essential 

When it comes to the technology itself, the ability of systems to work together and to scale with the facility itself is vital. Leveraging power over Ethernet (PoE) and properly sized telecom distribution rooms makes a good start. Digital twins and BIM models ease handoff from technology provider to owners for operational use.  

Regardless of the technology, one element in any major technology deployment is essential: Testing labs to validate systems before incorporating into the care environment. Think of it as a real-world testbed for ensuring integrated systems work as intended without compromising patient safety or incurring excess expense. Test labs possess a virtualized room that acts like “Room 101” in a 100-bed facility.  This allows for true behavior between users and the newly introduced technology; again, without compromising patient safety. (For more on this, check out our recent blog on interoperability.) 

Another best practice is to include various IT teams, like cybersecurity and clinical informatics as examples, early in the design process to ensure seamless and compliant integration. This is also good advice more broadly—to bring in ALL stakeholders at the very beginning of a major technology project to ensure all perspectives and intended uses are heard. That includes not just groups who build and support the systems being implemented but also clinical staff who use it and patients who rely on it. 

Connected patient rooms: Enhancing experience and safety 

Connected patient rooms are no longer a luxury—they’re quickly becoming the standard. There is ample research showing the relationship between a good in-room experience and positive health outcomes. 

In-room monitors are the portal to all kinds of patient experiences and clinical tools. In another example of why it’s so important to have all stakeholders involved, a hospital was building a new hospital and decided not to include wall clocks. They required a lot of maintenance to replace batteries and re-set for daylight savings time while hardwired digital clocks were too expensive.  Not to mention, patients expressed the noisy clocks to be a sad reminder of where they were and what they were going through. 

Once the hospital was in use and a code blue response was initiated, doctors soon realized they needed a clock that displayed seconds. The solution was not to put the physical clocks back, but to have one appear on the in-room monitor when triggered by nurse call systems. The on-screen clock appears along with patient vitals and other key information from the EMR system when a code blue is called.  This solution was crafted and deployed in a month’s time and went live without any noticeable downtime to the patients and clinicians. 

Sometimes the simplest and smallest detail can make a difference for patients. At a newly built city hospital, it was clear during the design process that long stay patients would be bringing their technology with them to sustain some normalcy on the healing journey.  The team went back and forth with ideas on how to connect these devices to the footwall monitor.  It was decided that a simple HDMI cable provided the support needed.   

That HDMI cable was appreciated by one patient when that hospital first opened.  This young patient had his gaming system in tow as he made himself comfortable in his new space.  With the HDMI cable, he was able to quickly connect his gaming console through the large monitor at the foot of his bed.  That simple HDMI cable not only connected the device but to his network of friends that he needed during this time. 

The solution was simple—just an HDMI cable connecting the game platform to the television—but it wouldn’t have happened without collaboration to arrive at the best solution. And it made all the difference for that young patient. 

Project execution: Bridging design and operations 

Successful technology integration requires alignment across all phases of the project lifecycle: 

• Co-design with stakeholders—leadership, clinicians, patient groups, IT, facilities, technology partners/vendors, design/engineering firms, and construction teams. 
• CapEx vs. OpEx modeling to evaluate upfront investments with long-term savings. 
• Technology equity considerations to avoid excluding users with limited access or literacy. 

These are just a few examples. When done right, much can be accomplished in a brief time during the actual project execution. In the case of one Tampa hospital, the systems integration of three facilities into its IT ecosystem was completed on time and within budget and its IT team assumed support of the new system in just 30 days. 

Human-centered innovation 

Technology is powerful—but it must serve people. Whether it’s a virtual clock that supports clinical response or a smartwatch syncing with a patient chart, the best innovations are those that enhance human experiences and outcomes. 

For that reason, it’s vital that healthcare facility owners, operators, and the technology suppliers they partner with, put a heavy weight on selecting teams and the people they are comprised of. Healthcare design is no longer just about widgets and wires. It’s about creating environments that are digitally intelligent, physically adaptable, and clinically impactful.

Find out more about how Schneider Electric partners to deliver cohesive care environments through advanced technology solutions.