Digital display technologies currently deliver providers important, clinically relevant information and enable patients to navigate the hospital, watch television in their room and much more. But Ken Honeycutt, Samsung's senior business manager for healthcare displays, believes display technologies can do even more in hospitals. He envisions a new generation of solutions that will improve patient safety, transform the patient experience, and increase workforce productivity.
Becker's Hospital Review recently spoke with Mr. Honeycutt about the difficulties facing health system executives and the role display innovations can play in addressing these issues.
Hospital executives are focused on using technology to address big-picture challenges
When Mr. Honeycutt speaks with hospital leaders, he hears about their desire for greater workforce optimization and is asked how their organization can be more efficient with the use of technology. In particular, executives want technology to increase efficiency by offloading nonclinical work from clinical staff, especially over-burdened nurses, to nonclinical personnel. Mr. Honeycutt also hears interest in using technology to improve patient safety and enhance the patient experience.
Samsung sees tremendous potential for next-generation display technologies to transform healthcare
Samsung has been working on a host of new display solutions for the healthcare industry that use next-generation technologies to address important clinical and nonclinical issues.
One example is an electronic whiteboard in patients' rooms. Currently, in most hospital rooms there is a white board or a grease board where nurses write their name and other important clinical information. But these boards are often not updated, creating the potential for mistakes.
Samsung is introducing an electronic whiteboard that is integrated with various systems like the electronic medical record. This solution will always be updated with clinically relevant information, which will improve patient safety and no longer require nurses to spend valuable time updating this patient information.
Mr. Honeycutt also explained that Samsung is "moving toward placing a fixed video communication solution in the patient room." Instead of having to roll a camera into a patient's room or provide a tablet, a fixed solution will give patients the ability to see and speak with a clinician conducting virtual rounds or contact other hospital staff members. A new mother could show her baby to loved ones across the country and a quarantined patient could see and speak with family members. This solution can also connect into other hospital systems allowing patients to communicate with dining services to order food, ask room services to clean up or simply adjust the temperature of the room on their own — all without having to contact a nurse.
Samsung is also focused on bringing technology trends from consumers’ homes and from the hospitality industry into the hospital. One trend is that hospitals are migrating from 32- or 40-inch displays to displays of 50, 55 or even 65 inches. Patients like the larger displays, which make them feel like they are at home or in a nice hotel. Mr. Honeycutt said larger screens provide "the power of positive distraction, since a distracted patient is typically a happy patient." Patients who are distracted by a robust entertainment system may be less fixated on their pain, which could lead to fewer medication requests and fewer nurse call requests.
New display technologies can be used for other purposes such as offering innovative queuing solutions, providing information to family members who are waiting for a loved one who is in surgery, enhancing the organization’s brand by visibly highlighting accomplishments of physicians and staff and providing more engaging, compelling donor walls and recognition. Mr. Honeycutt explained, "One of the core tenets behind digital signage is driving transformation and creating new experiences. It’s about engaging all of the constituents in the hospital environment, whether that’s patients, visitors, doctors or nurses, all to create a dynamic environment."
Adopting new technologies amid the pandemic is difficult but likely to accelerate in 2021
As exciting and beneficial as these new display solutions are, Mr. Honeycutt recognizes it is a challenging moment for hospitals to be adopting new in-room technologies. During the pandemic it is difficult to get access to patient rooms, capital resources within hospitals may be constrained and clinical staff and IT resources are spread thin.
But because the need for workforce optimization is so great and because the clinical, operational and patient-focused benefits of these new display technologies are so significant Mr. Honeycutt expects to see an uptick in demand as the pandemic subsides. His belief is that "in the first half of next year, there will be a significant amount of pent-up demand on the technology front. I think we'll see technology deployed and utilized to increase workforce optimization and improve patient satisfaction."