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SINGAPORE, 26 October 2022 – Sengkang General Hospital (SKH) and Cadi Scientific, a Singapore-based healthcare technology company, today announced a collaboration to develop smart facilities at SKH through the integration of systems, processes, technologies and people to enhance its management and operation of its healthcare services, and improve patient experience.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two organisations establishes three key areas that will be further conceptualised and designed as part of SKH's 'smart' facilities: operating theatres, emergency department (ED), and wards.
"SKH is one of the first few hospitals to use RTLS extensively for asset tracking and contact tracing even before the COVID-19 pandemic. As we look into the future needs of the hospital, the combination of the internet of things (IoT) and Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) have become the backbone of our hospital operations. With this collaboration, we will look at further ways to enhance the use of RTLS in more areas beyond asset tracking and contact tracing. We have found that this combination of technology can be adopted for process optimization, helping staff to spend more quality time in interacting with patients and their families," said Prof Teo Eng Kiong, Chief Executive Officer, Sengkang General Hospital.
"We are very excited to collaborate with SKH to further expand the use of RTLS to optimize healthcare workflows and enhance patient care. While healthcare professionals dedicate themselves to taking care of patients, we assist hospitals in making workflow processes smoother and more efficient so that they can have more time with patients. We are very happy to be part of SKH's journey in using technology to enhance patient care, and we look forward to unlocking the huge potential of RTLS together with SKH," said Dr Goh Zenton, Chief Executive Officer, Cadi Scientific.
The operating theatre is a resource-intensive area. Optimizing its resources and improving cost-effectiveness while maintaining a high quality of care is critical in hospital management. Existing systems and software can also be enhanced to improve both the patients' and visitors' experience.
As we look into the future and beyond, these findings will further aid in the purchase decision of the right equipment at the right time, thus reducing equipment inventory and holding cost while improving the utilization of equipment.
The adoption of RLTS currently has great importance in the efficiency of the Emergency Department where laboratory test results, medications, availability of equipment, and deployment of manpower are often pivotal to critical care.
As we look into the future, there are plans to enhance the RTLS report to track the patient's last contact with a staff. Some patients are in the Emergency Department for an extended period, and many of them have non-clinical needs (needing a drink, an extra blanket, or help with their mobile phone), especially elderly patients or those who are bedbound. Hence, the system will prompt staff to check on patients who had no interaction with a staff for a prolonged period and render any assistance if necessary, or to update their next of kin.
From the patient coming to the ward in a wheelchair and being transferred to the bed that is fitted with bed linens, to staff being reminded to adhere to hand hygiene protocols, and tags worn by doctors and nurses that facilitate contact tracing, each step involves the use of the RTLS.
As we look into the future, by leveraging an enhanced RTLS system and the use of robots, a location tracking technology will be developed to deploy robots to the right patient or staff at the right location. Akin to a Global Positioning System (GPS), nurses can request these robots to retrieve and deliver supplies, medicine, and linens and bring these to the patient's bedside at a push of a button. These robots offer support to the nurses, taking away basic tasks that are simple yet time-consuming and repetitive so that they can focus on taking care of their patients. In short, it helps save nurses hours of time and thousands of steps, and improves efficiency.
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For media queries, please contact:
Tricia Tan
Assistant Director
Sengkang General Hospital
DID: 6930 4466 HP: 9072 0330
Email: tricia.tan.s.p@skh.com.sg
Lim Soh Min
Director/Chief Marketing Officer
Cadi Scientific
HP: 9771 1701
Email: sohmin.lim@cadi.com.sg
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