Introduction
The development of new technology is constantly transforming modern healthcare, helping to propel the quality of service in different aspects of care to the next level. Apart from that, technology integration is expected to protect and improve patient safety by ensuring the timely reporting of problems. Given the advantages of computerized systems for intensive care units, the latter significantly improve patient outcomes and reduce the adverse impact of human factors on nurses’ work.
The Intelligent ICU and Its Benefits
Today, improving the quality of critical care can be listed among the key priorities in the field of healthcare. Healthcare clients receiving critical care services can be called vulnerable due to their physical condition. With that in mind, they have limited ability to involve in decision-making and keep track of their physical needs. To make critical care more technologically oriented and improve patient outcomes on a global scale, some attempts to create computerized intensive care units have been made.
For instance, four years ago, the Intelligent Health Association presented its smart ICU in Orlando in order to demonstrate the use of technology for patient privacy and the prevention of complications (Intelligent Hospital TV, 2014). The features that make the project different from standard ICUs are numerous since it aims to encompass all aspects of critical care and apply new materials and approaches to room organization.
The first feature of the project being discussed that makes it beneficial to nurses, patients, and even specialists responsible for cleaning is the use of innovative materials such as E-glass or the so-called switchable privacy glass (Halpern, 2014). Nursing specialists benefit from the use of such materials because they reduce the number of time-consuming manipulations in caring for clients in critical condition. The materials similar to E-glass substitute curtains since they can be switched from transparent to white instantly. The benefits of the material for patients are also evident – apart from protecting people’s privacy, they can help reduce noise and improve the patient experience.
Another beneficial feature of the project by the Intelligent Health Association is related to the use of technology for laboratory automation. The Intelligent ICU uses modern pneumatic tube systems that are responsible for the rapid transportation of samples to laboratories for further analysis (Intelligent Hospital TV, 2014). As the results of recent experiments demonstrate, such systems are extremely effective in reducing average turnaround time (Suchsland et al., 2017).
Apart from that, it is important to note that modern transportation systems ensure timely access to samples and do not have a detrimental impact on their quality (Suchsland et al., 2017). For nurses and other medical specialists, decreased laboratory turnaround times involve more opportunities to provide effective care and reduce mortality rates. When it comes to patients, such innovations directly impact their well-being and increase their chances of avoiding many complications.
Apart from the systems discussed above, the project involves the use of systems that reduce medication mistakes and help conduct organ examinations. Among the devices that are responsible for fulfilling these tasks, there are bedside sonogram machines that replace stethoscopes and infusion pump platforms (Intelligent Hospital TV, 2014). The former systems have numerous advantages for nurses and patients because of their impact on the timeliness of care. Thus, bedside ultrasound devices help reduce the amount of time needed for the identification of internal damages or the causes of pain. The use of infusion pump platforms is aimed at solving a range of problems related to drug administration errors.
The system effectively uses information on medications and prescriptions coming from hospital pharmacies to eliminate any mistakes associated with manual data entries. Therefore, nurses become less responsible for the adverse effects of medications on patients’ conditions. From the perspective of healthcare clients in critical condition, these innovations in drug administration processes can also be considered important. It is because they reduce the impact of human factors such as nurses’ limited knowledge or narrow experience, physical tiredness, and psychological burnout on the process of treatment.
Potential Risks
At first sight, the project designed and implemented by the Intelligent Health Association seems to be associated only with positive outcomes for nurses and patients. However, having analyzed the peculiarities of the used systems, it is possible to single out a few aspects that may be related to problems. To begin with, all systems used for the automatization of intensive care facilities aim to make healthcare providers act as controllers rather than decision-makers.
When it comes to automated drug administration, the possibility of programming mistakes or problems with the connection still exists, and it can have serious consequences both for patients and nurses. In case of technical failures during high-risk situations, nurses should demonstrate proper computer skills to avoid costly mistakes. Similarly, such cases can be extremely dangerous for patients and their health conditions.
Conclusion
To sum it up, the automated ICU involves a vast number of advantages for critical patients and nursing specialists. The innovative decisions used in the project are associated with positive outcomes since they increase the timeliness of medical help and allow focusing on the most critical aspects of care. In addition to that, some devices have the potential to significantly reduce the number of medication administration errors. In spite of that, the risks of technical failures should be taken into account to improve nurse and patient experiences. Nevertheless, it seems logical to support all types of innovative devices presented within the frame of the project due to their proven effectiveness.
References
Halpern, N. A. (2014). Innovative designs for the smart ICU. Chest, 145(3), 646-658.
Intelligent Hospital TV. (2014). The ICU at the 2014 Intelligent Hospital™ Pavilion. Web.
Suchsland, J., Winter, T., Greiser, A., Streichert, T., Otto, B., Mayerle, J.,… Petersmann, A. (2017). Extending laboratory automation to the wards: Effect of an innovative pneumatic tube system on diagnostic samples and transport time. Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine (CCLM), 55(2), 225-230.