5 Ways a Smart Hospital Bed Could Benefit Your Facility
What can these special new hospital beds do for your facility? Follow along as we explain the details of smart bed technology and outline five ways these beds could help your patients and staff.
What Is a Smart Hospital Bed?
When you think of traditional hospital beds, you probably picture basic metal gurneys with thin mattresses and flimsy side rails. While most emergency departments and urgent care centers still use these gurneys, many acute care settings have transitioned to using computerized patient beds.
Since the early 2000s, companies have integrated new functions and services into hospital bed design. The industry has built on early features like automatic steering and push-button bed elevation; now, along with built-in computers, smart hospital bed features include:
- Automated bed positioning
- Data collection and storage
- Patient-provider communication tools
Multiple manufacturers have developed their own versions of smart patient beds, each with their own unique capabilities and functions. The wide variety of computerized beds on the market allows hospitals to consider an array of options and price points.
When consumers purchase cell phones or home appliances, it’s important to consider the features most desirable for them. Similarly, administrators must consider the most preferred preferences of their patient population when choosing a bed for their facility.
5 Benefits of Smart Beds in Hospitals
You might be asking yourself “How can a computerized bed help improve care at my facility?” Here are five clear advantages that optimize patient and staff wellness:
- Decreased Risk of Pressure Injuries
- Streamlined Data Collection
- Improved Patient Satisfaction Scores
- Fewer Patient Falls
- Reduced Caregiver Burden
1. Decreased Risk of Pressure Injuries
Pressure injuries are a major complication in healthcare facilities. They’re common among elderly and critically ill patients, especially in intensive care units (ICUs) and nursing homes. A smart patient bed limits the frequency and severity of these pressure injuries.
By improving under-patient air flow, these beds limit the constant humidity and pressure that often cause wounds. Additionally, many beds have a computerized tilting feature; this helps routinely turn patients off of bony prominences, reducing the risk of injury.
Pressure injuries and skin ulcers cost hospitals up to $70,000 per incident, and jeopardize Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. Hospitals can save money and help their patients heal through the introduction of a computerized bed.
2. Streamlined Data Collection
Accurate and timely data collection is important in modern healthcare. Nurses and medical assistants are responsible for charting hundreds of vital signs during every 12-hour shift.
Some smart patient beds are equipped with sensors that allow contactless heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature, and body weight collection. Facilities can integrate the bed collection data into the electronic medical record (EMR) system, making it easy for nurses to document and review a patient’s health status.
3. Improved Patient Satisfaction Scores
Smart hospital beds can improve the patient experience. Patients often appreciate features like USB charging ports, remote control head adjustment, and integrated speakers. Helping patients feel a bit more at home is important for improving patient outcomes.
4. Fewer Patient Falls
Patient falls are devastating and raise red flags for regulatory agencies like The Joint Commission. Hospitals can reduce the chances of patient injury by introducing computerized beds with built-in alarm systems.
This fall alarm is often built into the mattress, making it easy to initiate in the case of patient delirium. Many of these alarms integrate into the patient call bell system, sending an alert to an overhead speaker or a nurse’s cell phone. By notifying staff members that a patient is trying to get out of bed, these bed alarms can save hospitals an average of $14,000 per fall.
5. Reduced Caregiver Burden
Features like automatic patient turning and weight redistribution mattresses help cut down on the physical labor associated with patient care. Nurses can stay healthy and strong with reduced muscle strain and back pain often experienced with heavy lifting.
Caregivers who work in facilities with smart beds are able to spend time tending to other needs like medication administration and patient teaching. Hospitals can help staff feel appreciated by being able to better prioritize their needs.
Disadvantages of Smart Beds In Hospitals
Like most change efforts, there are drawbacks to introducing a smart patient bed into your facility.
The cost of these high-tech beds ranges from $10,000 to $40,000, which turns many smaller facilities or community hospitals away right from the start. Also, computerized beds tend to malfunction or break more often than traditional sturdy beds, making them sometimes difficult to use and expensive to repair.
One of the other issues of smart beds in hospitals is that patient-specific data like weight and temperature can be inaccurate. Features that were built to help nursing staff chart efficiently often malfunction and force nurses to reassess the patient to ensure accurate vital signs.
Smart hospital beds of the future can improve current bed technology and build features that optimize wellness and reduce redundancy for staff. With proper staff training and routine device maintenance, disadvantages of these beds can be minimized.
Learn More Ways to Upgrade Equipment and Improve Care At Your Facility
Introducing a smart hospital bed to your facility is just one way you can improve health outcomes; Read more with IntelyCare, you can follow along in our free newsletter to discover more evidence-based strategies on how to improve the healthcare experience for patients and staff.