TECHNOLOGY TRANSFORMATION

Technology’s transformational influence on our lives is no better evidenced than the evolution of the UK’s healthcare sector, where pursuit for greater e ciency has manifested in many key developments since the turn of the millennium (and the birth of Airwave).

The widespread adoption of electronic health records has revolutionised the way providers store and access patient information. In turn, the growth of big data enables the storage and analysis of vast amounts of this information, providing valuable insights into a populations’ health.

Telemedicine has revolutionised the e ciency of (and access to) care, and artificial intelligence within healthcare applications is growing in prominence, assisting in medical diagnoses, and predicting patient outcomes.

The drive for greater e ciency is fuelled by the search for better patient outcomes, and the streamlining of processes that ultimately, will save healthcare organisations billions of pounds.

Digital Evolution

This thinking underpins the NHS Digital Exemplar (NDE), a program conceived to support the NHS in the adoption and implementation of digital technology.

Running in parallel is the government’s Health Infrastructure Plan (HIP), a £3.7bn funding package to standardise the design of new hospitals, ensuring “sta can utilise technology, to deliver better care and empower people to manage their own health1.“

So, what does all this mean? we hear you ask… and where does Airwave fit in?

The Power Of Tv

The Department of Health & Social Care fall short of expressly referring to the power of TV in their ‘A new, strategic approach to improving our hospitals and health infrastructure’ plan, instead listing genomics and AI as headline enablers in the delivery of better care.

However, with multiple studies establishing a direct link between a patient’s environment, and outcome & recovery, surely the provision of a credible TV system is critical?

According to Ofcom, Britons are addicted to TV, and spend nearly a third of their waking hours watching TV and/or video content2 - a figure likely to be greater in the captive environment of a healthcare bed.

And of course, TV isn’t just an alleviator of boredom, but a key reducer of stress and anxiety (between 60% and 90% of hospital patients exhibit emotional distress and somatization3).

All things considered, it’s di cult to understate the importance of TV’s role in the provision of an optimum patient environment.

Patient Power Project

A notion not echoed by a 2000 Act of Parliament – the ironically titled ‘Patient Power Project,’ mandating that a hospital’s television services must not be funded by taxes or the NHS. Instead, patients would bear the responsibility for the associated costs of the bedside pay TV system via a pay-to-watch delivery method (approximately £8 for a basic TV package at the time of writing).

Troubled with the ethics of supplying pay-to-watch TV services in a hospital environment, Airwave has never implemented this technology, instead developing accessible to all, free-to-watch platforms.

And we’re delighted to see our stance vindicated, as the UK veers away from payto-watch TV in hospitals. Whilst these do still exist, they’re slowly being phased out, replaced with systems that really do focus on patient power…

Over The Top

At a fundamental level, the implementation of free-to-watch TV platforms is a major patient power TV experience.

However, it’s the increasing focus on OTT content (a term synonymous with streaming video on demand services such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer and Amazon Prime), that’s shifting the parameters of patient entertainment technology.

Typically implemented via a commercially certified Google Chromecast platform, enabling the casting of content from a smart device to a television display, this not only o ers a watch what you want, when you want vehicle, but essentially provides the patient with an infinite amount of content.

From a patient’s perspective, the TV turns into an entertainment platform, o ering choice, flexibility and a home-fromhome viewing experience.

IT’S NOT JUST A TV…

So, a TV system won’t mend a broken leg, but it certainly plays a positive role in the provider’s pursuit of a better patient experience.

Especially when considering today’s TV, isn’t just a TV…

Just like the trusty smartphone, e ortlessly juggling a medley of functionality, a smart TV fulfils a series of roles, not just benefiting patient experience, but augmenting a provider’s operational e ciency.

Indeed, the multi-faceted nature of the healthcare TV system, has provoked much debate within Airwave’s o ce walls. Traditionally referred to as a ‘patient entertainment system,’ does this terminology accurately reflect all roles fulfilled?

THE FIVE E’S

When chatting terminology, we became embroiled in an excess of E’s as entertainment, e ciency, education, empowerment and engagement took centre stage in the great name debate.

A well-designed healthcare TV system should embrace the E’s, integrating a diverse set of features, that go well beyond the use of the system for entertainment purposes only.

Features such as meal ordering and nursecall enhance operational e ciency, reducing burden on employees and empowering the patient. Rehabilitation plans, exercise videos and dementia support are built with education as a guiding principle, but also serve to aid operational e ciency and empower the patient.

The symbiosis between the design and e ect of the five Es is fascinating, but at the risk of elongating the episode, we need to examine the importance of a sixth E.

Evolution

Evolution. One of Airwave’s fundamental principles is design for tomorrow, not today - failure to do this risks the implementation of systems that don’t stand the test of time.

This has typically necessitated an agile, proactive approach to system design –requiring ongoing training and constant dialogue with industry partners, ensuring we’re constantly in tune with tomorrow’s tech.

Adding nuance is the need to strike a balance between cutting-edge and user experience. Whilst we strive to provide state-of-the-art systems, we’ll never deliver all mouth, no trousers technology, compromising usability and accessibility. Whilst early adoption o ers wow factor, It’s often the cause of headaches.

However, perhaps the most transformational development in technology, might just hold the key for the provision of systems that are, theoretically at least, future-proof.

This allows a provider to implement features and functionality via modules, introducing certain features initially, and expanding/evolving (this might be based on user feedback or analytics) as and when required.

The modular methodology o ers a more flexible, adaptable, and sustainable approach to designing and building complex systems and products. Healthcare providers don’t need to make a single large investment decision, instead analysing a system’s usage and reacting accordingly.

The Internet Of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) shapes today’s world and via its associated benefitsimproved e ciency, increased productivity, better decision-making, data analytics –enhances the patient experience, whilst simultaneously reducing cost.

Underpinning philosophy set within the NHS Digital Exemplar and the Health Infrastructure Plan, IoT sensors help enable a smart hospital environment, building a platform for features such as intelligent lighting, temperature control, and automated equipment - that ultimately will enhance a patient’s experience.

And of course, IoT adds flexibility and longevity to the healthcare TV, which as a smart device, becomes a key part of a hospital ward’s IoT infrastructure. TVs and systems benefit from regular software updates, enhancing features, adding functionality and more excitingly, integrating with clinical applications and hospital services.

START SMALL, BUILD BIG

The benefits of future-proof technology are clear to see; reduced requirement to refresh or upgrade hardware decreases capital expenditure and minimises disruption for both provider and patient. New services and features can now be introduced to a TV’s feature set - as if by magic!

Make no mistake, this is revolutionary, providing not just cost e ciency, but significant operational agility. And notably, it builds a platform for start small, build big system deployment via the implementation of modular technology.

This process underpinned the development of Airwave’s MYCARE TV patient entertainment platform (see page 16).

Although cutting-edge in design, MYCARE TV is actually the product of many years’ worth of development, with much tweaking, refining, and remodelling along the way - led not just by technology advances, but an evolving remit provided by the Royal Liverpool University Hospital (see pages 10 & 11).

RLUH approached Airwave, looking for a state-of-the-art patient entertainment system that would tick boxes provided by the NHS Digital Exemplar. However, a series of build delays (amounting to 5 years) considerably influenced the parameters of the TV system’s remit.

MYCARE TV’s modular platform not only diluted the impact of these delays, but provided a compelling benefit in conjunction with RLUH’s staggered opening schedule – a process that took many months.

During this rollout, priority was understandably a orded to the implementation of clinical equipment and services; consequently, a slow, staggered deployment of MYCARE’s various modules (commencing with the delivery of a simple Freeview TV & radio service, and access to a livestream from the hospital’s chapel) was necessary, reducing disruption within the hospital, and o ering breathing space and flexibility.

HOME-FROM-HOME

Modular technology o ers scope to scale implementation up (or down) across one, or multiple sites. A system can be replicated and deployed across partner sites, particularly useful when working with multiple hospitals within a single trust.

And just as useful across the various requirements of other healthcare sectors.

Airwave also deliver TV systems to the secure accommodation sector, hospices, and nursing & care homes. Here we see a fundamental shift from the delivering of systems designed for patients, to those built with residents in mind.

Whilst home-from-home experience TV technology should always be a priority, it assumes critical importance when TV becomes a window to the world Failure to deliver a credible system can seriously a ect the quality of life for those that call a healthcare environment ‘home.’

So, there’s no room for error and we need to get the basics right. This commences with the delivery (and maintenance of) robust, reliable and modern RF or IP infrastructure, providing as a bare minimum, crystal clear Freeview TV & radio channels.

No home-from-home experience is satisfied without the inclusion of casting functionality, tapping into the video and audio libraries of streaming APPS and providing viewing flexibility, choice, and longevity. And adding variety to the mix, features such as video calling, internet browsing and games & puzzles (sudoku, crosswords etc) o er variety and scope for longer term engagement – a requisite o ering for the immobile or bedbound.

New For The Old

If we’re talking about getting the basics right, we need to think carefully about the requirements of the nursing home sector and its elderly demographic. Often lacking the technical savvy to utilise features such as content casting, would it be remiss to over-spec a system? would the implementation of surplus features add unnecessary complication for the resident, and avoidable cost for the provider?

Here, we find ourselves returning to the Airwave mantra of optimum experience ahead of cutting-edge tech. Is MYCARE TV the answer? allowing a provider to implement simple, no-frills features, then introducing new modules down the line?

We think so. Of course, there are always complexities and nuances to consider – every situation is di erent and if a one size fits all TV entertainment system exists, we’ve yet to see it.

And that’s why we love TV technology. Life in the fast lane. Never a dull day. If you’d like to share the ride, we encourage you to pick up the phone to talk TVs…