3 Essential smart hospital technologies for scaling care
Hospitals are under increasing pressure to deliver quality care while facing rising costs, workforce shortages, and access challenges — especially in rural communities. With 80% of U.S. counties medically underserved and over 20% of patients living more than 30 minutes from a hospital, nurses and care teams are managing heavier workloads and patients face delayed or fragmented care. These challenges put increased strain on hospital operations — they directly impact nurse well-being and patient outcomes.
To alleviate nursing shortages and elevate patient care, many health systems are turning to a strategic mix of core technologies — like virtual nursing solutions. Below, we’ll look at three innovations making a big difference in healthcare.
1. In-room TV Kits and Carts
Amwell TV Kits and virtual care Carts transform existing health-grade TVs into an all-in-one, integrated virtual hub. Through these, hospitals can scale clinical care at the bedside without needing to hire additional in-person staff. The same TV setup can support multiple clinical use cases, units, and service lines while also integrating with EHRs like Oracle Health and Epic.
Let’s walk through an example:
What does a TV Kit do? From the point-in-care device, a virtual nurse can perform tasks normally facilitated by the bedside nurse, including admitting or discharging them from their room, verifying medication orders, educating them on their treatment plan, joining consultations with other specialists, and more.
How does that help the bedside nurse? This care delivery model enables bedside nurses to focus their workloads on patient care that requires hands-on interaction. It also introduces opportunities for virtual nurses to mentor bedside care teams as needed.
How does it benefit the patient? This technology makes it easier for patients in rural areas to access specialists in community hospitals without having to travel farther to tertiary hospitals, improves response times to patient needs, and allows patients more time for care plan questions.
What is the outcome for the health system? Virtual-first workflows allow organizations to efficiently resource units, optimize their resources, and ensure patients receive high-quality care in every community.
2. Digital Room Signs
Innovative organizations are incorporating smart room technology as a modern way to surround the patient with efficient and coordinated support. Amwell’s Digital Room Signs display real-time information about the patient, alerts for staff, or other care instructions. From the Digital Room Sign, nurses and care teams can communicate important updates, coordinate patient care, and improve handoffs between care teams instead of relying on paper notes or magnets outside patient rooms. Many signs even have built-in cameras so staff can check on patients without interruption, letting them rest and heal.
3. Interactive Whiteboards
Interactive Whiteboards are foundational virtual care device investments for building smart hospital rooms. These interactive boards are a connected experience to share updates that are integrated directly in the EHR and organize care between patients, families, and staff. Nurses can use them to display and discuss lab results, medical images, or other key information during conversations with patients and families.
Virtual nurses can also use Interactive Whiteboards from hellocare to record tasks in real time and work more efficiently with bedside teams. By streamlining communication and avoiding unnecessary interruptions, digital whiteboards can improve the experience for patients and nurses alike.
Looking for more? Learn how you can address workforce shortages and burnout with Amwell here!
Virtual nursing can drive change in healthcare
Virtual nursing is a healthcare approach that connects innovative technologies to enable the delivery of smarter, more efficient care. Hospitals looking to improve access to care for rural patients, support workloads for bedside staff, and create more connected experiences for everyone, should consider Amwell’s Virtual Nursing solution.
Amwell works in partnership with leading hospitals to develop offerings that are tailored to meet real-world needs and recognize that use of technology like TV Kits, Digital Room Signs, and Interactive Whiteboards is essential to enhance care and improve hospital efficiency.
If you're ready to improve your hospital operations and learn how our advanced virtual nursing solution can help deliver ROI, reach out to our clinical consultants today. Together, we can build a future that’s efficient, cost-effective, and focused on patient care.