SMART Hospital and Innovation

Mackenzie Health is re-envisioning its care delivery model to embrace a connected health strategy that utilizes digital communications and the Internet of Healthcare Things (IOHT₍₁₎) to provide quality health care both inside and outside the traditional hospital setting.

Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital is the first hospital in Canada to feature fully integrated smart technology systems and medical devices that can speak directly to one another to maximize information exchange.

 

This sounds exciting, but what is a smart hospital?

We asked ourselves that very same question about a decade ago, long before the Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital was built. What if we could build a hospital facility that was specifically designed to make it easier to deliver safer, more effective, and more comfortable care? What if we could leverage technology and information from building systems (such as temperature, air quality, and lighting), medical devices (such as vitals machines, IV pumps, and hospital beds), and other health care processes? And what if we could use that information to anticipate problems and prevent them from happening? This type of high technology environment is called ambiently intelligent, which is different than artificial intelligence. An ambiently intelligent hospital is designed to be sensitive and responsive to the needs of the patients, visitors, and caregivers.

As an example, the patient rooms at Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital all have smart beds. These beds can communicate with your electronic health record, with your care team, and even with you. The bed is like another member of your care team, checking to make sure you aren’t likely to fall when getting up, letting you communicate quickly and easily with your nurse, making it easier to get a pillow, or an extra blanket. The bed provides not just a comfortable place to sleep, but a safe place to recover, learn more about your illness, and prepare to go home when you are getting better.

 

Why does the smart hospital look like other hospitals I have been to?

Some people may be disappointed to see that the smart hospital looks and feels like a lot of other hospitals. Sure, there are some new technologies in the hallways and at the bedside, but maybe you have seen these things before. The truth is, a lot of what makes the hospital smart happens behind the walls, out of sight. The systems that keep you safe while you are recovering are hidden inside very complex computers, and you may only see that they are working when your nurse or doctor gets a notification that there is something unusual with your care, or when someone comes to check in on you at just the right moment.

The smart hospital is also part of an ongoing journey into how we can utilize technology and information to deliver better care to you. So, you can expect things to change over time, as we find new ways to improve your care.

 

The smart hospital vision, applied at both Mackenzie Health hospitals including Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital and Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital, creates a truly connected patient experience inside and outside the hospital setting by utilizing digital communications and the Internet of Healthcare Things to provide quality health care delivered through the eyes of the patient.

⁽¹⁾Mackenzie Health is the registered owner of the official marks for Internet of Healthcare Things (IOHT) and ICAT Healthcare