What to expect in the hospital of the future

The hospital of the future is an idea that has been gaining traction over the last decade, one that Covid-19 has only served highlight the importance of. Global healthcare systems have buckled under the unexpected weight of Covid admissions, pushing established systems and processes to their limits. Surely, investing in efficiency-boosting tech can only be a good thing?

As with many problems, those highlighted by Covid were not ones known to the sector pre-pandemic. Changes in communication methods, for instance, were required due to the increasing use PPE (personal protective equipment), which can muffle speech and impair non-verbal communication.

Over the course of the pandemic we have seen many services introduce apps in the place of physical meetings or sales, forcing many to adapt to the times and create user-friendly remote experiences.

This is an area where the healthcare sector has previously lagged behind – for instance, we have come to expect mobile-accessible banking – but, given lockdown restrictions, more and more digital healthcare solutions are being brought to market. Expect much of your pre and post-hospital experience to digitised which, given the proper work, should result in a more efficient experience all round.

Remote work and communication have exploded in the post-pandemic world and this will now likely be used to a much greater effect in the healthcare sector, bringing practitioners together, regardless of location.

Not only this, but advancements in robotics and software are making the jobs of doctors more efficient and safer – for a look at some new NHS-funded tech innovations, check out our previous article here.

Once again Covid has, in its own bull-in-a-china-shop way, proved to be an agent of change for the healthcare sector. Let’s hope the AI-enabled hospitals of the future are better equipped to deal with the next healthcare disaster.