Hospitals face increasing challenges: massive influx of patients and unsuitable organization. In this context, how to guarantee quality human care despite the growing industrialization of the health system?

The challenges of organizing a hospital

With its medical emergencies, operational contingencies, human needs and limits, planning a healthcare center is largely imperfect.

Different systems have been put in place to improve its management: computerized administrative patient management (CAPM), computerized patient record (CPR) and especially software. The current trend is towards computerized patient flow.

Today, it is estimated that a university hospital center (UHC) regularly uses 150 to 300 applications that must work together, each with their specific function.

Optimizing hospital flows to improve its management

To master this complexity, we must first be able to understand what is happening. This is the role of LaData.

We therefore need to equip and monitor patient data, medical equipment and their movements to optimize hospital flows.

The second step is to propose different optimizations.

Poor time allocation and loss of efficiency remain recurring problems. Some steps in the patient journey can be greatly streamlined, and caring for the patients who really need it at the right time is crucial.

But this is also where you need enough knowledge of the field to understand that the human factor of care is not counted, cannot be anticipated, cannot always be rationalized.

Digital at the service of the hospitals and more humane care.

Digital gives the ability to improve the quality of care. And, paradoxically, it also brings an additional human dimension to hospitals.

By promoting communication, it helps prevent and support anxiety provoking phases and improves the patient experience.

In addition, communication between personnel, patients and caregivers promotes a relationship of trust and personalized care.

Example in ambulatory surgery

Ambulatory surgery, closer to patients homes, offers practical advantages. However, the necessary support should not be neglected. Excessive industrialization would risk setting aside the human aspect. It is therefore essential to set up follow-up and support systems to ensure the continuity of care.

For example:

• Prior to treatment, manage consents, forms, and insurance at home.
• And after the intervention, to follow-up the first night returning home went, the nausea and vomiting related to the anesthesia, the bleeding, and the state of the wound.

The industrialization of the hospital system is inevitable, but it is essential to preserve the human character of care. 

Digital tools and communication are allies of choice to maintain personalized care. By combining efficiency and humanity, hospitals will be able to meet these challenges and offer optimal quality of care for all.

The augmented patient journey at Medicalytics conferences

Join the experts in the field at the Medicalytics conference held on September 28, 2023 at the Institut & Haute école de la Santé La Source in Lausanne, on the theme “Virtual medicine and decentralized care”.

Experiences around the “Patient journey, from reception to leaving the operating room” will be offered by Etienne Thenon (Kheops Technologies) & Mathieu Lorenzato (Calyps) during this next edition. 

“Original article translated by Emmanuel Georges”