When CIOs need to be in the room with patient engagement technology in new construction projects

Installing equipment may seem like the end goal at the start of a new construction project. But there’s so much more involved, especially when it comes to patient engagement technology for your new facility.

As an IT professional, here are four key steps of the process you need to be in the room for.

1. Focusing on why before what

Don’t buy technology for the sake of technology. Before selecting any equipment, work with your C-suite to determine what you want to accomplish before deciding how to accomplish it.

Identify and prioritize the outcomes that matter most, such as staff and operational efficiencies, HCAHPS, quality and safety, health equity, or readmission rates. Then consult with your patient engagement vendor on which technologies can help achieve those outcomes.

This will help make sure every element in your new patient room is valuable to both patients and staff every day, while also fitting with your organization’s big-picture priorities and keeping you at the top of the highly competitive healthcare landscape.

2. Bringing in the nurses

Talking to your clinical team at the beginning of the project is crucial to the success of technology in patient rooms.

They’re the ones who are in the room every day and have real frontline insights into what the end users want, expect, and need.

Ask your nurses things like:

• Which tasks are slowing down your workflow?
• Where could the in-room experience be better?
• What are some of the most common questions patients ask you?
• What conveniences or services would help patients most?
• What roadblocks are holding up discharge readiness?

Talking to them first will bridge that critical gap between procuring and using patient technology.

3. Connecting the dots

Integrating

Before choosing the actual devices and hardware to install in patient rooms, don’t forget to check in with your vendor’s integration and infrastructure experts to make sure everything will work together in the best possible way.

Ideally, your patient engagement technology partner will talk with your team about how third-party integrations—such as your EHR, education, virtual care, nurse call, and dozens of other systems—should be incorporated into the technology you’ve chosen.

The value of an integrated solution is its ease of use, so take the time to understand how users will interact with all aspects of the system. Complicated systems can hurt patient experience and staff efficiency.

Designing

Also stay in the loop with your room architects and IT teams when deciding the layout.

There are optimal viewing distances for digital displays, accessibility accommodations, patient engagement best practices, and proper power sources and data ports to consider.

Be ready for infrastructure discussions around things like:

• What kind of power and connectivity is required for each piece of technology? (e.g., AC or PoE? Wired or wireless? Copper or fiber?)
• Is there enough network switch capacity and IP cabling running to all tech placements in the room?
• Does the wiring connect correctly to the building automation system?
• Is there a unified or segregated LAN? How will Wi-Fi handle BYOD functions?
• What is your security stance path? Do the vendor solutions need more isolation or more control?
• Are there plans for additional technology installations that the infrastructure can prepare for now to minimize disruptions in the future?

Preparing

Then, identify a “golden room” to install and test the integrations, taking time to work through any unforeseen kinks before a full pilot and deployment.

Evaluate what staff training, workflow processes, documentation, and change management materials are needed before the new building goes live.

Scaling

Talk to the teams about how technologies could be implemented in your legacy facilities, too, to give patients and care teams a consistent experience across your enterprise.

Consider ways to bring in new features to legacy systems to reduce any functionality gaps across facilities or units.

4. Planning for the future

Healthcare technology will never be “set it and forget it.” So even after your new construction project is concluded, your technology needs will not.

Workflows (and workloads) evolve. Patient expectations evolve. Technologies evolve. Enterprise standards, goals, and budgets evolve.

And whatever issues come up shouldn’t all fall to your team to address.

Understand your SLAs, and hold your vendors to their commitments.

Talk about what kind of ongoing support your patient engagement technology partner will provide, and when and how you or your team should be involved:

• What ongoing training and troubleshooting resources are available?
• Who can help with technical assistance if it’s needed remotely? On site?
• Who’s responsible for monitoring device health? Is there a NOC?
• What workflows and fallbacks are there for when the technology has an issue?
• How will you get visibility into uptime, utilization, and when optimizations are needed?

Be in the room where it happens

Before, during, and after breaking ground on your new build project, your involvement as an IT leader is essential for success. Even—and especially—when it comes to patient engagement.

 

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Editor’s note: This article was originally published on HIStalk.com.