Using IoT to enhance hospitals

With EcoStruxureTM for Healthcare, hospitals can improve energy efficiency and patient care

The need for healthcare has changed

With the world population growing significantly, the proportion of elderly people is also increasing at a higher rate than ever before. By 2050, the global population growth, especially involving people aged 60 years and over–who have the greatest need for health and medical care–will reach an unsustainable rate.

Most hospitals in Vietnam are now facing many common challenges: data management, hospital security such as equipment theft, patient safety, and operating cost reduction. One of the most cost-effective investment methods is to transform the traditional management model into an Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled digital hospital architecture, which would help reduce not only human resources pressures and operating costs but also data processing time.

By applying this digital platform in hospital management, 175 hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City have been able to meet the needs of 1,000 to 1,200 outpatients and over 1,000 inpatients a day, while previously, the number of patients only reached about 50-70 per cent of those figures.

Yoon Young Kim, general manager of Schneider Electric Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia, said, “It is predicted that 87 per cent of hospitals in developing countries will soon adopt IoT technology. Modern consumers are accustomed to the concept of smart homes and smart apartments, and smart hospitals will be the next demand. This is also in line with the policy of applying the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which the Vietnamese government has been proactively promoting. That is why we will introduce the product EcoStruxureTM for Healthcare to medical facilities and hospital managers in Vietnam – an IoT solution for electrical systems in hospitals.”

IoT technology is ready for Vietnamese hospitals

Digital healthcare transformation technologies such as Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxureTM for Healthcare have been introduced to Vietnam and are ready to be provided to partners.

“Our intelligent hospital management solution aims to manage patient information, energy, electricity, and assets to optimise the efficiency of the hospital environment. Schneider Electric experts will develop appropriate solutions based on the actual situation in Vietnam so that those solutions will not only maximise efficiency, but also be easily applied to different areas,” Kim said.

The most highly appreciated advantage of Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxureTM for Healthcare is its ability to optimise operating costs, including energy consumption management, which is a major burden on hospitals since electricity costs make up a large proportion of hospital operating costs. At the same time, the technology improves the performance of hospital technicians, as they can monitor the system from anywhere at any time and detect problems as soon as possible to handle issues in a timely manner.

Moreover, EcoStruxureTM for Healthcare also supports patient safety. The solution uses IoT technologies to monitor the power system in order to guarantee power availability and sustainability of supply to ensure uninterrupted and safe surgeries.

IoT-enabled technologies also enhance hospital security, since IoT can improve the medical security system, preventing child kidnapping – which is a major concern for many hospitals – as well as medical equipment theft with the help of positioning sensors. One more important factor is patient satisfaction. IoT applications can control devices in rooms, which contributes significantly to creating a comfortable recovery environment for patients.

Over the past 10-15 years, several private hospitals in Vietnam have achieved significant successes, including Vinmec, French Hospital, and Hanh Phuc Hospital, demonstrating that demand is meeting supply. Therefore, Schneider Electric, the leading company in digital transformation of energy management and automation, hopes to expand its EcoStruxureTM for Healthcare solutions to many more Vietnamese hospitals in order to enhance efficiency, performance, and patient satisfaction, for the convenience of everyone.