Hospitals of the Future Will Be Smart and Decentralized

According to the “layer approach”, patients would be cared for in an environment that would be redesigned for their well-being. Built close to residential areas and equipped with green spaces, the “Healthy Cities” will also not only be places where patients are cared for, but where they could also live.

Increasingly sensitive personal data

Besides the patient himself, his personal data are also the focus of the “smart” hospital. The decentralization of services requires a networked IT system in which highly sensitive health data is exchanged between structures.

Simple tests, such as blood pressure or temperature measurements with connected devices, can improve patient well-being and save the doctor time, but also increase the amount of personal data. With the HIPA legislation, the collection, use, storage and protection of patients’ personal data will be important issues for tomorrow’s hospitals.

The change is also philosophical. As the world’s population ages, it is no longer a matter of caring for patients, but of maintaining the health of patients for as long as possible, focusing on prevention, rehabilitation, and re-education. Tomorrow’s hospital will have a different model from the one we know today. It remains to be seen however whether this new system will live up to its promises, only time will tell.