Hospitals are large complex organizations with a lot of different departments, moving parts, and requirements. There is a shortage of Doctors, RNs, and other highly trained individuals, and there needs to be new ways of using their time, and shifting some of their workload to Technology and Medical Assistants.

 

Technology can provide automatic data/record collection, telemedicine, new monitoring/treatment devices, intelligent computer assisted examinations/treatments, treatment scheduling and verification, process analysis and improvement, robotic remote presence, and may other features.

 

These are all possible through existing and emerging technologies  using common standards and methods, at less cost.

 

Some Sample System Scenarios:

 

• Things can get busy and can fall through the cracks. It would be great to be able to quickly load in custom or standard “schedules of actions and treatments”  for a patient, that automatically sets reminders, assigns to the proper individual at the time, logs events/treatments, provides treatment verification, performs automatic escalations if not performed, and it allows forwarding and follow-up options to be automatically scheduled

 

• Medicines, dosages, times, and individuals can get mixed up. It would be great to be able to quickly verify any medications and treatments (e.g. name of patient, picture of patient, Doctor prescribing, medicine/treatment, dosage/action, time last taken/performed, time scheduled) all using a quick scan with a tablet, phone, or viewing with intelligent glasses

 

• There are so many different devices and interfaces to them, that it is difficult to new devices and use them.  Being able to have a common familiar control (tablet/smartphone) with common interfaces would make them easier to use, make less mistakes, and require less training

 

• There is turnover of employees and need for refresher training. It would be great if all of the equipment and applications were on common everyday devices, had the same look and feel, provided automatic input, had on-line help, and supported  on-line standard and customizable practical and  situational training (including emergency operations)

 

• There needs to be a quick way of connecting wireless monitoring and treatment devices (and the resulting data from them) to the patient, as well as transferring them between rooms, emergency vehicles, and the Hospital

 

• The Doctors wants to be able to check their patients more frequently or bring in other Doctors for consulting, even if it is through “remote presence”

 

• The Hospital/Clinic is considering expanding into outreach to Mobile, Fixed Neighborhood, Healthcare Days, and other Satellite Clinics and would like to explore lower cost personnel and facility options

 

• The Hospital is dedicated to Worldwide Relief efforts, and would like to provide capabilities to allow Doctors to volunteer to inexpensively support these efforts when they have available time

 

• You notice a maintenance or other issues and want a quick way off reporting it and confidence that it will be performed, it would be automatically be scheduled with escalation and feedback when it was completed

 

• A piece of equipment or room (registered to the Facilities department) sprung a leak and needs to be scheduled for immediate attention to the person on duty and escalated if it is not acknowledged or responded to

 

• Medical Staff does not want to have to worry about the technical support of devices, and want to make sure they are working properly. It would be of benefit if the devices were remotely monitored for errors, calibrations, or updates…  if there was an issue it could be fixed remotely or easily swapped out

 

• The Hospital needs to better understand their work flow, time with patients, services on different patient disorders, peak activity times, etc. They would like to have information that can be used to  determine possible changes in treatments, training, staffing, and process

 

Note: There are additional more detailed presentations that also cover key details on several different Key Advantages (General, Operational Costs, Staffing Costs, Equipment and System Costs, Reducing Risks and Improving Quality, Process Measurement and Improvement, and new Opportunities).

 

System Features:

 

• The System is Object Oriented, Modular, and devices have more capability in a smaller footprint…  allowing it to be integrated into existing facilities and Information Systems, or part of a configurable low-cost cookie cutter deployments

 

• Modular “Plug and Play” and configured “System-in-a-Box” options to support incremental improvements and expansion

 

• The System provides common “Look and Feel” interfaces on Standard PCs, Smartphones, and Tablets, with online training, help, and instructions, with the devices supporting remote maintenance and support

 

• “System-in-a-Box” kits to expand patient room and general hospital capacity to additional areas to handle emergency overflows within and outside off the hospital (emergency Telemedicine enabled Medical Kits, portable and storable patient equipment, neighborhood and other small clinics)

 

• Small mobile “System-in-a-Box” examination and treatment kits (carts) that can be shared and customized for specific needs

 

• Support for “Brick and Mortar” and “Telecommuting”, including “on the fly” additions to add additional resources

 

• Public/Private Identity System to provide information about individuals as well as provide care, verification, and data storage  for individuals

 

• Support for the scheduling of single, reoccurring, and follow-up events for a patient (manually or with pre-defined care options)

 

• Role Based Scheduling, within and outside (doctors, personal services, guardians, support staff, etc.) of the Center with acknowledgement, escalation, follow-up, accountability, and audit/process improvement to cover different shifts and pools of individuals within a  functional area

 

• Support for full audit of events for completion, accountability, and  analysis  of the event log for training and process improvements

 

• Automatic Data Analysis, Reporting, and Alerts based on selectable parameters associated with different devices

 

• Configurable (medical, fitness, security, environmental, etc.) alerts and escalations (email, txt)

 

• Can use expandable HIPAA Cloud Data (and processing)

 

• 3rd Party Device and System Support to remove IT and support requirements

 

• General Hospital (dispatch, expansion of security and environmental controls and monitoring)

 

Note: Role Based scheduling is based on defining general roles, and then mapping shifts for those Roles to Individuals, These include the roles to perform the tasks as well as any escalations and follow-up, and it can automatically assign, reassign, and forward based on shift changes. . Sample roles could include, Shift_Supervisor, Doctor_On_Call, Device_Support, etc.

 

System Components:

• Smartphones, Tablets, and/or PCs with downloaded APPs  (and access to Cloud Data and Processing  through the APPs)

 

• Incorporation of Intelligent Adaptive Examination Decision Trees

 

• Any desired Medical (monitoring, test, treatment) , Security, Monitoring, and/or Environmental Control and Monitoring Devices

 

• Network Connection and Local Network (e.g. Wi-Fi, Satellite, Cellular, Microwave, etc.)

 

• Any desired Redundancy (lighting, power, batteries, network, solar, etc.)