Hospitals Have More Patients Than Staff; They Need Innovative Tech

Modern hospitals face many pressures daily; what will help them keep up? Looking at time-based delivery policies, blood products must reach wards within 15 minutes or less in Norway. This is a common delivery time for a lot of hospitals, but not all. The European Directive on blood 2002/98/EC is the European law that oversees blood collection, testing, and overall distribution across the EU. KRITIS regulation is Germany’s law that sets strict technical and physical security standards and protects vital public services. 

1 in 5 hospitals can possibly be considered a high risk for financial default; budgets can get tight. For the year 2024, Japan had 83.3% of public hospitals operating at a deficit. Taking a look at Hungary, past-due hospital debt reached €300 million in the same year. Spending on high-tech, on-premise upgrades in infrastructure is crucial for hospitals.

The world is low on nursing staff, and in the next few years the world will have a nurse deficit. Many countries such as Romania, Greece, Italy, Ireland, France, and Germany already operate well under optimal staffing levels. According to data from the OECD Health at a Glance Framework, average European densities sit at 840 practicing nurses per 100,000 inhabitants, leaving under-resourced nations far below safety thresholds. 1 nurse per 5 patients a day is suggested, but most nurses see 11 patients per day. Nursing staff have high-stress jobs, with 70% of nurses experiencing stress on the job, and another 84.5% experiencing physical pain. With the number of patients each nurse treats daily, there is less time for proper care.

A framework of fast-moving tubes, like a subway system, could be the right tech upgrade hospitals need. The Pneumatic tube system is built with swiftness and IT security in mind. Delivering lab samples, documents, IV bags, and blood products up to 8x faster than staff could. Hospital pharmacies are able to transport 90% of materials in a carrier. Hospital staff will swipe their badges to access the interface and send out carriers, choosing the fastest delivery route; they can also check on maintenance issues, all from a touchpad. The tube system is fast and secure, with real-time RFID tracking technology. The tube system will allow staff to assist patients 10x faster. Giving hospitals the high-tech upgrade they need. 

Source: Swisslog