Technological Support For A Modern Healthcare Environment

Hospitals are expected to provide fast, safe, and
reliable care while their staff manage increasingly
demanding workloads. Nurses and other healthcare
professionals can spend a significant amount of their time
moving supplies, medications, and documents around a
facility instead of focusing directly on patients. At the
same time, hospitals face financial pressure, cybersecurity
threats, and the continuing need to provide patients with
the best care. These challenges make operational technology
an increasingly important part of how modern hospitals
function.

Healthcare
workers are expected to handle a large amount of work on
a daily basis. Depending on the country, nurses can be
responsible for as many as 11 patients per day. The strain
is reflected in the workforce itself, with more than 83% of
people in the nursing profession reporting that they feel
mentally overwhelmed at work. There is also a projected
shortage of more than 4 million nurses worldwide by 2030.
When fewer healthcare workers are available to handle a
growing workload, hospitals have to find ways to make the
time of existing staff count.

Technology can ease some
of the strain and stress put on hospital staff. Pneumatic
tube systems, for example, can move materials through a
hospital without needing a staff member to physically carry
them between locations. The technology can process more than
10,000 transactions each day, while documents can travel
700% faster than they would with human walkers. Cancer
medication that takes 10 minutes to transport manually can
take just two minutes using a tube system. The time saved
can be built up to allow healthcare workers more time
overall to concentrate on patient care.

Technology
also provides a way to monitor the movement of materials
through a hospital. Staff can use a touchscreen interface to
manage the system, while RFID technology can track a tube’s
location and provide information about when it has arrived.
Many hospital pharmacies can transport 90% or more of their
materials using a carrier. In Germany alone, approximately
10,000 red blood cell units need to be transported through
hospitals each day.

Hospitals are not always in good
financial standings. In 2024, one in five hospitals was
considered at high risk for financial default. Financial
difficulties occur in other healthcare systems as well,
including public hospitals in Japan, which reported that 90%
operated at a deficit in 2024. Victorian public hospitals in
Australia were also dealing with deficits exceeding $1
billion, while hospital debt in Hungary reached €300
million in 2024.

With hospitals experiencing financial
pressures, technology needs to leave a beneficial impact
that lasts for a long time. An investment that reduces
unnecessary manual work, improves the movement of supplies,
or helps staff complete routine tasks more quickly can
potentially address several operational problems at once.
Where can technology provide the greatest practical
benefit?

As hospitals become increasingly dependent on
technology, worries about cybersecurity have increased. 42%
of healthcare-related ransomware attacks in Europe targeted
hospitals. This creates a difficult balance for healthcare
facilities. Technology can improve the speed and efficiency
of hospital operations, but the systems supporting those
operations also need their own proper protection. Keeping
technology updated and on-premises is one productive way
hospitals can help prevent malicious
cyberattacks.

Patient safety provides another reason
to examine hospital workflows. More than 80% of illnesses
are transmitted by hands, while high-touch hospital surfaces
can carry 18 human pathogens and 60 different kinds of
bacteria. Every time staff physically handle materials and
move them around a facility, there is another opportunity
for human contact to enter the process. Systems that allow
materials to be transported without requiring workers to
carry them throughout the hospital can help reduce
unnecessary handling.

Hospitals will continue to
struggle with staffing shortages, financial constraints,
cybersecurity concerns and demanding patient-care
requirements. Technology cannot completely remove those
problems on its own, but thoughtfully designed operational
systems can help facilities work around some of the
pressures. By improving how materials move through a
hospital and reducing the mountain of responsibilities put
on staff, technology can become an important part of
creating a better healthcare
environment.

© Scoop Media