Hospital Of The Future

Delivering an exceptional healthcare experience is about more than meeting just the immediate clinical needs of the patient. How do we reimagine the food service and delivery experience (ordering by phone from a static, physical menu for in-room delivery) for our inpatients and outpatients, their families, our employees and guests, to ensure they get the nutritious meals they need?

Things to think about:

• Convenience
• Fun, delicious/memorable experiences
• Customizable menu options for food allergies, cultural/religion and health conditions

An idea to get you started: A platform enabling patients to submit their 5-star craving via text, voice assistant or digital menus – that takes their medical conditions into consideration and leverages everything from food delivery services, cloud kitchens, live cooking classes and partnerships with local Austin eateries to ensure they get the healthy meal they need.

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Our patients are diverse and have specific needs that we not only want to accommodate, but also anticipate. What traditional hospital experiences or processes can be improved upon so they are more convenient, personalized and equitable?

Things to think about:

• Physical needs
• Cultural needs
• Preferred language
• Technology (access, interoperability, etc.)
• Agency (patients are in control)
• Choice
• Educational/literacy (including technology-literacy)

An idea to get you started: Personalized health communications via pre-paid text messages, in your preferred language and at an accessible reading level, automatically triggered by medical codes and physician’s chart notes.

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COVID has revolutionized the way we interact in person. How can we transform physical touchpoints into touchless, seamless but still personal and trustworthy digital healthcare experiences? Additionally, what touchless/adaptive features could we integrate into our workspace at the new hospital to fit current and future needs of our workforce?

Things to think about:

• Smartphone apps
• Voice assistants
• Computer vision
• Smart environments

An idea to get you started: We use Epic’s MyChart PreCheck-In to eliminate sign-in, paperwork and payment touchpoints in the clinic. The addition of a digital infrastructure to connect other touchpoints, using Internet of Medical Things (at-home scales, thermometers, blood pressure monitors, cameras that see inside ears/throats, smart watches, etc.) to eliminate touchpoints.

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How can we use extended reality experiences (XR) to reimagine the: doctor - patient experience of the future; the way we train employees or medical students; the way we engage with patients in the future; or the way we work within the hospital of the future?

Things to think about:

• Training/simulations
• Exam rooms experiences
• Educational opportunities
• Office spaces of the future
• Gamified experiences to drive improved outcomes

An idea to get you started: XR experiences during stressful procedures or virtual, hologram style medical record screens, making it easy to visualize patient progress, vastly improving patient/family/care team communication and coordination.

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Child life specialists are healthcare professionals who help children and families navigate the process of illness, injury, disability, trauma, or hospitalization. What innovative experiences should Child Life provide for our patients and their families, in the future, to help them decrease anxiety, increase coping, connect, socialize and heal?

Things to think about:

• Live arts & crafts
• Memorable digital experiences
• Apps
• Games
• Sibling activities
• Music
• Animal assisted therapy
• Media production

An idea to get you started: Platforms that improve the efficiency for how the Child Life Specialist engage with patients or a positive social network for patients with similar diagnosis and their families.

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A challenge to engage Austin’s future tech leaders! Texas Children’s can provide patient journeys to be reimagined by the participants, designed and animated in scratch – with a local Austin touch, of course!

For more information, click here

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