How to Deliver Patient-Centred Care With the Help of Technology

At its core, healthcare is about the patients - technology is simply an enabler. There’s so much more to offer than just internet access when it comes to implementing health tech innovations in your practice or hospital.

Previous iterations are outdated, ineffective and have left hospitals with unnecessary equipment by the bedside. Implementing the right technology unlocks communication avenues that have the potential to save costs, improve patient engagement, minimise manual processes and give valuable time back to staff. Learn more about how patient-centred care is made easier by leveraging tech.

• Delivering Accessible Patient Entertainment
• Providing Timely Education  
• Extra Resources to Those Who Need It Most
• Giving the Power Back to the Patient 
• Take Inspiration from Trusts Pioneering Tech

Delivering Accessible Patient Entertainment

A McKinsey patient survey found more than 75% of all patients would like to use digital healthcare services. Modern-day patients are well-equipped with technology, regardless of their age or background. Everyone has a smartphone; everyone expects WiFi and everyone’s used to digital technology making our lives a little bit easier.

It’s easy to leverage this familiarity with tech to avoid frustration and possible isolation for those admitted, utilising intelligent patient-centred care systems to adapt to their evolving needs. Used on both bedside and personal devices, these systems improve both efficiency on the ward and overall patient satisfaction when paired with reliable WiFi.

With recent innovations, we’re worlds away from legacy systems that require patients to pay hefty fees to watch basic TV. If your hospital provides WiFi-enabled healthcare, there are improved patient entertainment options readily available. 

Previously, patients needed to pay £10 per day to watch TV. This outdated practice is changing and with some platforms, patients can use their own devices or bedside displays. They’ll have access to a wider range of TV and video on demand. Games, TV shows and films are all available for patients to enjoy, keeping them entertained while hospital staff concentrate on providing care. 

This allows for greater entertainment during their hospital stay and boosts their overall experience. It’s especially important in paediatric wards and can help to relax both unwell and visiting children. 

Providing Timely Education  

With patient engagement technology, patients can access a library of educational information. This information can be tailored to suit the ward the patient is on. For example, patients on a cardiology ward can learn about heart disease and how to prevent it. 

Previous systems have offered patients the chance to explore the NHS’ library of content but it’s been difficult to find and access. Patients can now easily browse useful clinical information, like smoking, diabetes and mental health content, helping them make informed choices about their health. 

When speaking to patients, it can be difficult for doctors to convey exactly what the patient’s issue might be. However, with the educational content readily available, they can refer to helpful guides and videos to help the patient understand at their own pace.

Extra Resources to Those Who Need It Most

Not only do these systems empower patients by giving them educational resources, details on their care and entertainment, but it also lets them communicate requests instead of always requiring a nurse. This means resources can be allocated to those who need it most.

Over 70% of RCAs from the NHS mention communication as a contributing factor. Hospitals rely heavily on collaboration between colleagues. Patients, nurses, doctors and staff all need to be in constant communication to create a system that operates as smoothly as possible.

As every patient will have access to the network, you can give a better, more bespoke service which puts them at the centre. With the right infrastructure in place, patient communication can evolve to foster more supportive patient-doctor interactions. 

Giving the Power Back to the Patient 

Empowering patients with modern solutions in healthcare is essential. Giving them an active role and access to self-care has the potential to shape their entire hospital experience. 

An example of this is how technology and sophisticated systems can be integrated with a Trust’s meal ordering provider, so patients can order what they want at the touch of a button. This means staff no longer have to visit each ward, potentially asking somebody on nil-by-mouth what meal they’d like.  

Plus, as the system links to patients and their ward number, the meals can be redirected if they move or cancelled if discharged, reducing waste and saving costs.

Patients can also easily read electronic menus and be aware of the ingredients before they order. This helps the NHS as it reduces food wastage, especially since it was reported the NHS spent £27 million on wasted food in just 12 months.

To improve patient care, hospitals need comprehensive feedback from those who are in the thick of it. The current issue is giving feedback is somewhat of a challenge, with letters needing to be sent off and patients simply forgetting. Intelligent systems can prompt them at critical points of their stay, getting the valuable insights you need to shape future patient-centric care decisions. 

Take Inspiration from Trusts Pioneering Tech

Patient entertainment systems aren’t just for patients, although their efficiencies allow us to make improvements for them. While part of the aim of a patient entertainment service is to provide a better experience which leads to patient happiness, it also needs to benefit the hospital so it can continue to do so.

Innovation is the word on everybody’s lips now. The main goal is to better streamline work, optimise systems, improve patient outcomes, reduce human error, lower costs, minimise miscommunication and ensure smoother handoffs.

Those who have already implemented such systems are proving to be an excellent investment into the wellbeing of everyone at the hospital. Bedfordshire Hospital and Dorset County Hospital are some of the Trusts pioneering technology that focuses on the patient experience - plenty of others have paved the way. 

Many hospitals are plagued by poor cellular signal, making it difficult to keep in touch with friends and family. The thought being unable to contact those most important to us is unsettling, let alone when we are in the middle of a pandemic. 

Here at WiFi SPARK, the leading provider of guest and patient-access WiFi in the UK, we’re continually delivering patient-centred care with the use of technology, reliable WiFi and our arsenal of solutions. 

SPARK® Media: Unite facilitates patients to see loved ones over the internet using apps like Skype, Facebook Messenger or Google Hangouts. The solution can also allow access to games and entertainment features, essential during these unpredictable times. 

This is just one of our many patient-centred care solutions. We’ll continue to work with other leading providers and specialists to ensure our platforms significantly improve patient engagement and overall experience in hospitals. To see how your Trust can benefit from a solution, you need to find a system that’s right for you. That’s where our quiz can help.

Find the Right Patient-Centred Care Solution for You

If you’re interested in finding out how patient entertainment systems have evolved and what modern platforms can do for the NHS, then click to start our quiz below. It takes into consideration your CQUIN target focus, budget and requirements and matches you with a solution that can revolutionise your patient-care.