Opening the digital front door for healthcare
Electronics giant Samsung discussed innovations in robotics and wearable devices as key technologies for delivering personalized care.
In the HIMSS24 APAC keynote, “Smart Hospital Revolution: Redefining Patient Care with Technology,” Samsung Medical Center CIO Dr. Won-Chul Cha and Dr. Hon Pak, SVP and Head of Digital Health at Samsung Electronics, discussed the importance of technology integration in healthcare.
Dr. Cha compared a smart digital hospital system to a human organism, which houses circuits and neurological networks that integrate.
“Our robotics technology is a good example. It communicates with information systems in the building that open the doors of hospitals and communicates with medical supply systems that are further connected to EMR systems,” he explained.
For example, integrated technologies can facilitate risk identification, pattern detection and personalized care, he said.
“Samsung partnered with the University of Iowa to develop a medical recovery model based on wearables. We were able to use a user’s resting heart rate, sleep stages and more to create an ‘energy score’ for him or her. Based on the scores, we provide personalized coaching for users to maximize well-being,” added Dr. Get to it.
Integrated devices can also provide home users with a digital bridge to timely medical interventions.
“Unsuspecting individuals can be alerted to sleep apnea, which has implications for cardiovascular risk. Once alerted, they can be referred to doctors. As a physician, if I can observe a patient’s daily context, such as their heart history or blood sugar levels, then we can make the (personalized care) experience seamless,” said Dr. Pak.
When making decisions in emergency situations, 24-hour health monitoring is crucial, Dr. Cha emphasizes.
“I’ve had emergency patients complain of palpitations, but they couldn’t distinguish between anxiety and other possible conditions at the time. With a good monitoring system, doctors don’t even have to ask for patient data to make the right decisions.”
Dr. Pak expressed confidence that patients will experience a customizable digital front door in the coming years, regardless of their medical wearables. Direct symptom checks and wellbeing measurements would be a feature.
“Healthcare is a team sport. By providing doctors with more intelligent information, we can streamline the digital process and create a stronger connection with patients and improve their experience.”