Technological Support For A Modern Healthcare Environment

Hospitals are expected to provide fast, safe, and reliable care while their staff manage increasingly demanding workloads. Nurses and other healthcare professionals can spend a significant amount of their time moving supplies, medications, and documents around a facility instead of focusing directly on patients. At the same time, hospitals face financial pressure, cybersecurity threats, and the continuing need to provide patients with the best care. These challenges make operational technology an increasingly important part of how modern hospitals function.

Healthcare workers are expected to handle a large amount of work on a daily basis. Depending on the country, nurses can be responsible for as many as 11 patients per day. The strain is reflected in the workforce itself, with more than 83% of people in the nursing profession reporting that they feel mentally overwhelmed at work. There is also a projected shortage of more than 4 million nurses worldwide by 2030. When fewer healthcare workers are available to handle a growing workload, hospitals have to find ways to make the time of existing staff count.

Technology can ease some of the strain and stress put on hospital staff. Pneumatic tube systems, for example, can move materials through a hospital without needing a staff member to physically carry them between locations. The technology can process more than 10,000 transactions each day, while documents can travel 700% faster than they would with human walkers. Cancer medication that takes 10 minutes to transport manually can take just two minutes using a tube system. The time saved can be built up to allow healthcare workers more time overall to concentrate on patient care.

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Technology also provides a way to monitor the movement of materials through a hospital. Staff can use a touchscreen interface to manage the system, while RFID technology can track a tube's location and provide information about when it has arrived. Many hospital pharmacies can transport 90% or more of their materials using a carrier. In Germany alone, approximately 10,000 red blood cell units need to be transported through hospitals each day.

Hospitals are not always in good financial standings. In 2024, one in five hospitals was considered at high risk for financial default. Financial difficulties occur in other healthcare systems as well, including public hospitals in Japan, which reported that 90% operated at a deficit in 2024. Victorian public hospitals in Australia were also dealing with deficits exceeding $1 billion, while hospital debt in Hungary reached €300 million in 2024.

With hospitals experiencing financial pressures, technology needs to leave a beneficial impact that lasts for a long time. An investment that reduces unnecessary manual work, improves the movement of supplies, or helps staff complete routine tasks more quickly can potentially address several operational problems at once. Where can technology provide the greatest practical benefit?

As hospitals become increasingly dependent on technology, worries about cybersecurity have increased. 42% of healthcare-related ransomware attacks in Europe targeted hospitals. This creates a difficult balance for healthcare facilities. Technology can improve the speed and efficiency of hospital operations, but the systems supporting those operations also need their own proper protection. Keeping technology updated and on-premises is one productive way hospitals can help prevent malicious cyberattacks.

Patient safety provides another reason to examine hospital workflows. More than 80% of illnesses are transmitted by hands, while high-touch hospital surfaces can carry 18 human pathogens and 60 different kinds of bacteria. Every time staff physically handle materials and move them around a facility, there is another opportunity for human contact to enter the process. Systems that allow materials to be transported without requiring workers to carry them throughout the hospital can help reduce unnecessary handling.

Hospitals will continue to struggle with staffing shortages, financial constraints, cybersecurity concerns and demanding patient-care requirements. Technology cannot completely remove those problems on its own, but thoughtfully designed operational systems can help facilities work around some of the pressures. By improving how materials move through a hospital and reducing the mountain of responsibilities put on staff, technology can become an important part of creating a better healthcare environment.

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