Hospitals should account for many factors while designing intensive care units (ICU). Such aspects as patients’ security and comfort should be combined with nurses’ ability to monitor patients and deliver proper and timely care. In this case, the introduction of intelligent technology allows hospitals to combine these elements. The video The ICU at the 2014 Intelligent Hospital™ Pavilion describes some devices that can be used in the ICU settings. It is necessary to outline the advantages and possible concerns of this equipment to see whether it should be used in a hospital.
The first technology presented in the video is eGlass – a switchable privacy glass that can be turned on and off remotely (Intelligent Hospital TV, 2014). It functions in the same way as curtains, giving the patient the needed privacy. However, while curtains have to be changed and can only be moved manually, eGlass is easy to clean and switch on and off. The benefits of this glass also include various ways of operating, as it can be turned on with motion lights.
On the other hand, the main drawback of this device is its reliance on electricity. Power shortages or malfunctions can leave the patient exposed to or hidden from the staff’s view. Nevertheless, I think that this piece of equipment is an excellent addition to a hospital room.
The next introduced technology deals with specimens, medications, and products’ delivery from and into the room. The pneumatic tube system transports specimens from the room to the laboratory and helps the staff to monitor their location. This equipment eliminates the possibility of human mistakes due to nurses’ miscommunication and gives them instant access to all necessary data. The drawback of the system is its security. Some people without authorization may try to access the device, but it is protected with passwords. I would use the pneumatic tube as it gives nurses more time for other tasks and uses a centralized system to reduce the possibility of a human mistake.
The problem of miscommunication can be further reduced with a bedside array that combines the information from all medical equipment in the room and delivers it to nurses along with the current state of the patient and his or her room’s live view (Intelligent Hospital TV, 2014). The system is usually connected with another piece of intelligent technology – the bedside sonogram machine, which measures all required data such as blood pressure and heart rate.
According to Portela et al. (2014), such systems can help nurses to make decisions in pressing situations quickly as they provide access to all pertinent information. The possibility of the malfunction is a problem that should be noted. Also, the staff should be adequately trained to use the equipment. Nevertheless, I would recommend these systems as they reduce nurses’ workload and provide some safety for patients.
Finally, the administration of drugs is another area of healthcare where nurses’ mistakes may significantly affect the patient’s health. To eliminate this problem, one can utilize a dosing monitoring system that automatically establishes the needed dosage of medication and prevents the patient from receiving the wrong amount of drugs. As Pirinen et al. (2015) note, the process of drug administration is often long and complicated which raises the possibility of errors. Therefore, such a system, although it also can malfunction or be tampered with, provides an easy solution for these problems. I would use this device given that the staff is appropriately trained.
All in all, intelligent systems allow nurses to gather all necessary information in one place and allocate more time to other important tasks. Patients, on the other hand, can feel as though their hospital is equipped with the latest and safest technology. Upon reviewing the systems, I would suggest implementing the described equipment as its advantages are significant while its drawbacks can be minimized with training and stable energy sources.
References
Intelligent Hospital TV. (2014). The ICU at the 2014 Intelligent Hospital™ pavilion. Web.
Pirinen, H., Kauhanen, L., Danielsson-Ojala, R., Lilius, J., Tuominen, I., Díaz Rodríguez, N., & Salanterä, S. (2015). Registered nurses’ experiences with the medication administration process. Advances in Nursing, 2015, 1-10.
Portela, F., Gago, P., Santos, M., Machado, J. M., Abelha, A., Silva, Á., & Rua, F. (2014). Pervasive real-time intelligent system for tracking critical events with intensive care patients. IJHISI-International Journal of Healthcare Information Systems and Informatics, 8(4), 1-16.