Welcome to the new and improved hospital room

Consider a patient who arrives at a rural hospital with chest discomfort. No cardiologist is available on site, and the nearest specialist is located two counties away. Instead of requiring a transfer far from home, a nurse can press a button and a cardiologist can be brought into the room virtually, appearing on a large screen to review an EKG with the patient and family and to begin a treatment plan — even before a transfer to another facility might otherwise have been arranged.

In another scenario, a patient recovering from surgery may believe she is steady enough to stand when she is not. If the patient were to sit up and shift toward the edge of the bed, cameras and sensors within the room can recognize a potentially dangerous movement pattern. A virtual nurse monitoring the patient remotely can then be alerted. The patient can be addressed through the in-room television and asked to remain in place, while the bedside nurse can be simultaneously contacted to assist, preventing what could have resulted in a serious fall.

Inside the innovatively designed room

These scenarios are no longer hypothetical. Various “Room of the Future” technologies are being implemented at many hospitals within Advocate Health, of which Advocate Health Care and Aurora Health Care are part. Four fully equipped pilot sites are currently live, and plans have been established to expand the model across the enterprise over the next three years. Initial expansion efforts are being focused on rural hospitals, where consistent access to specialty care has historically been limited.

When the hospital room joins the care team

At Advocate Health, these rooms will be equipped with permanently installed, two-way audio and video technology, allowing remote members of the care team to join bedside care within seconds. Smart sensors are designed to recognize meaningful patterns — from when a patient needs repositioning to when a room requires cleaning — and prompt the right response at the right time.

Clinicians are further supported through smart documentation tools that are designed to safely and securely monitor patient interactions. Draft notes can be automatically generated, and patient vitals can be populated directly into flow sheets.

These solutions are developed in close partnership with care teams to ensure that real-world clinical needs are addressed. Every technology deployed within the room undergoes careful review and testing to ensure it is ethical, secure, reliable and transparent to patients and capable of delivering measurable impact. The cameras provide live video only. Nothing is recorded. Patients can turn on a privacy mode setting or have the camera turned away, when appropriate.

What this means for patients

These capabilities allow technology to operate quietly, supporting care teams without disrupting the patient experience.

In practice, this could mean:

• A virtual nurse can assist with admissions or patient education, enabling bedside nurses to focus on other patients’ non-administrative needs.
• A physician can maintain eye contact, ask thoughtful follow-up questions and fully engage in conversation, while notes are taken automatically, powered by technology in the room.
• A patient can simply start speaking and immediately alert a virtual nurse, without having to reach for a call button.
• A patient’s family can participate in care plan discussions remotely.
• A virtual interpreter can connect instantly with non-English-speaking patients.

What comes next

Advocate Health’s Room of the Future is already enhancing patient care and supporting clinicians at pilot sites, enabling greater focus on care delivery. Over the next three years, these capabilities are expected to be expanded across all Advocate Health hospitals.

For rural communities in particular, the impact is expected to be significant, with increased access to specialty care, faster treatment decisions and fewer transfers far from home.

“Early data shows that Advocate Health’s Room of the Future reduces a patient’s length of stay, improves clinician satisfaction and retention, and increases the overall patient experience,” says Molly McColl, the vice president for virtual health and clinical transformation at Advocate Health.

The room is not designed to replace the human touch. Instead, it is being designed to remove distractions, shorten the distance to expertise and ensure that every moment of care — regardless of location — is being made more connected, responsive and personal.

Do you want expert care for minor health concerns and ongoing conditions from the comfort of home? A virtual primary care provider may be right for you. Learn more: IL | WI