{"id":38830,"date":"2023-02-24T05:07:40","date_gmt":"2023-02-24T10:07:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/?post_type=emagazine&#038;p=38830"},"modified":"2023-10-16T08:04:59","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T12:04:59","slug":"smart-hospitals-healthcare","status":"publish","type":"emagazine","link":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/smart-hospitals-healthcare\/38830\/","title":{"rendered":"The hospital of the future: Could smart hospitals deliver better healthcare?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Healthcare needs are getting more complex, and systems more stretched. To meet the demand for precision healthcare, hospitals need to evolve to become smarter and more efficient. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates healthcare will face a shortfall of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.weforum.org\/agenda\/2023\/01\/medical-recruitment-crisis-davos23\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">10 million healthcare workers worldwide by 2030<\/a>. Is it sustainable to increase the workload of already stretched practitioners? Smart hospitals could make healthcare work more efficient and improve the quality of patient care.<\/p>\n<h2>Smart hospitals and the rise of e-health<\/h2>\n<p>Smart hospitals are part of the e-health phenomenon. A smart hospital improves patient care using optimized and automated processes, particularly the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/category\/internet-of-things\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Internet of Things<\/a> (IoT), to connect medical devices to AI and data analysis. Smart tech helps healthcare practitioners focus on providing high-quality care while reducing the barriers associated with using complex medical technology.<\/p>\n<h2>Smart tech means smarter workflows<\/h2>\n<p>One figurehead of the smart hospital movement is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hrh.ca\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Humber River Valley Hospital<\/a>, Canada. It\u2019s North America\u2019s first fully-digital hospital (think: online appointment scheduling, digital check-ins and your test results emailed.) It boasts robots and other tech to automate almost <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mckinsey.com\/industries\/healthcare-systems-and-services\/our-insights\/finding-the-future-of-care-provision-the-role-of-smart-hospitals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">80 percent<\/a> of its back-office services like pharmacy, laundry and food delivery. This gives clinical staff more time to give back to patients.<\/p>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"c-promo-product\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#modal_newsletter\" class=\"c-promo-product__figure\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"500\" src=\"https:\/\/media.kasperskydaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/92\/2021\/08\/31071319\/k_Healthcare_Cybersecurity_black-500x500.png\" class=\"attachment-card-default size-card-default\" alt=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/media.kasperskydaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/92\/2021\/08\/31071319\/k_Healthcare_Cybersecurity_black-500x500.png\" data-srcset=\"\" srcset=\"\">\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"c-card c-card--link c-card--medium@sm c-card--aside-hor@lg\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-card__body  \">\n\t\t\t\t\t<header class=\"c-card__header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"c-card__headline\">SECURE FUTURES<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"c-card__title \"><span>What's coming next?<\/span><\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/header>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-card__desc \">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Be first to find out what\u2019s happening in tech, leadership and cybersecurity.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"c-card__aside\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#modal_newsletter\" class=\"c-button c-card__link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stay ahead<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.clevelandclinicabudhabi.ae\/en\/pages\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi <\/a>(CCAD,) UAE, uses digital apps to support treatments. Pre-treatment, patients use apps to communicate with staff. During their stay, they use smart pads to access their info, daily plans and order food. At discharge, the app sends prescriptions to local pharmacies then sends them their bill. Neat.<\/p>\n<h2>Can robots become care workers?<\/h2>\n<p>Smart tech could help meet labor shortages: this means more android helpers. During the first COVID-19 outbreak, Wuhan Hospital, China, was staffed entirely by robots for several days. Produced by start-up <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cloudminds.com\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">CloudMinds Technology<\/a>, they improved patient care and gave respite to over-stretched workers.<\/p>\n<p>Smart hospitals can automate and digitize traditional, labor-intensive processes. When healthcare is delivered quicker and more accurately, more people can be treated safer and quicker. Consider <a href=\"https:\/\/www.johnsoncontrols.com\/en_sg\/solutions-by-industry\/healthcare#:~:text=Automatic%20Code%20Blue%20Activation,abnormal%20vitals%2C%20without%20human%20intervention.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Johnson Control\u2019s Code Blue Activation system<\/a>; When a patient reaches critical condition, it calls up an emergency care team in just 24 seconds.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"640\" height=\"390\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/videoseries?list=PLCW4eSmzhEFmFjQ8srF_rr2WUBOWkVBZg&amp;hl=en_US\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Could 3D printing replace donors?<\/h2>\n<p>There\u2019s a relatively new tech in smart hospitals: 3D printing. Imagine the opportunities if surgical teams could print body parts, like prosthetic limbs or dental implants, on-demand. While the tech is in its infancy, there are promising advancements, though it\u2019s without the speed and capabilities needed for large-scale adoption.<\/p>\n<p>Engineers and medical researchers from the <a href=\"https:\/\/twin-cities.umn.edu\/news-events\/new-3d-printed-device-could-help-treat-spinal-cord-injuries\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">University of Minnesota<\/a> recently created silicon-made scaffolding\u2019 that could benefit those with spinal cord injuries by restoring muscle control. Cells are printed onto the structure then implanted into the patient\u2019s spinal cord, with a bridge between cells.<\/p>\n<h2>Can smart hospitals save lives?<\/h2>\n<p>Given increased healthcare demands, hospitals may not have any choice but to change. Smart hospitals could improve the care we deliver and benefit our societies. But it will be a group effort.<\/p>\n<p>Professor Daniel Kelly, Cardiff University\u2019s School of Healthcare Sciences, thinks smart hospitals will be crucial for healthcare. But we have to understand how it will affect everyone, including those funding it. \u201cAs treatment for many diseases becomes more personalized, there\u2019s an urgent need for health systems to evolve. Smart hospitals are symbolic of a future standard of healthcare where we can remove the reliance on paper records and current digital systems\u2019 inefficiencies.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Translating the smart hospital concept into reality relies on significant investment and a radical redesign of processes involving clinicians and patients.<\/p>\n<cite><p>Professor Daniel Kelly, Cardiff University's School of Healthcare Sciences<\/p><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<h2>Securing the smart hospital<\/h2>\n<p>From sensitive patient information to medical records, it\u2019s easy to see why cybersecurity is a hot topic in healthcare. Hospital data and equipment are goldmines for hackers and criminal groups. Those goldmines become all the more accessible when introducing a connected system like a smart hospital.<\/p>\n<p>Firstly, traditional medical devices are outdated \u2013 they aren\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/applied-cyberimmunity\/28772\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">secure by design<\/a>. This means many wouldn\u2019t have been tested for vulnerabilities or built to connect with smart appliances or the internet. (A tough task to foresee the fourth industrial revolution, to be fair.) This gap can allow attackers to gain illegal access to systems and data.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.enisa.europa.eu\/publications\/cyber-security-and-resilience-for-smart-hospitals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">survey by ENISA<\/a> found the most critical threat to smart hospitals is malicious attacks \u2013 like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/about\/press-releases\/2020_the-number-of-new-malicious-files-detected-every-day-increases-by-52-to-360000-in-2020\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">malware blitzes<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/resource-center\/threats\/ddos-attacks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">denial of service<\/a> (DDoS) raids that take control of systems and devices, steal patient data (most likely to be sold on the dark web) and hold patient data hostage with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/resource-center\/definitions\/what-is-ransomware\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">ransomware<\/a>. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, attacks on hospitals and health organizations have increased drastically, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tomorrowunlocked.com\/hacker-hunter-hackc1ne-1?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">including this fatality triggered by ransomware in Germany<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe class=\"youtube-player\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"640\" height=\"390\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/tEVeITt5qu4?version=3&amp;rel=1&amp;fs=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;wmode=transparent\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Human errors still pose one of the biggest threats to patients. Take drug pumps; smart hospitals, or more specifically their workers, deliver controlled doses of medications to patients. These systems prevent over or under-administration, but they have an over-ride button for emergencies. But what if the device isn\u2019t configured correctly? Someone could tamper with drug delivery, inadvertently or intentionally, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/business-37551633\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">which might have deadly consequences<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>These technological advancements are not just projects for the IT department: The smart hospital involves participation between technologists and healthcare practitioners. Ongoing collaboration is needed to protect it from cyberthreats to ensure smart systems can save more lives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With healthcare systems under pressure, smart hospitals could be just what the doctor ordered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2520,"featured_media":38831,"template":"","coauthors":[3424],"class_list":{"0":"post-38830","1":"emagazine","2":"type-emagazine","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"emagazine-category-artificial-intelligence","7":"emagazine-category-digital-transformation","8":"emagazine-category-emerging-tech","9":"emagazine-category-internet-of-things","10":"emagazine-tag-healthcare"},"hreflang":[{"hreflang":"x-default","url":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/smart-hospitals-healthcare\/38830\/"},{"hreflang":"en-us","url":"https:\/\/usa.kaspersky.com\/blog\/secure-futures-magazine\/smart-hospitals-healthcare\/24264\/"}],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/emagazine\/38830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/emagazine"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/emagazine"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2520"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38831"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kaspersky.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=38830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}