Latin America. An important task for facility managers in charge of verticals such as hospitals is to keep in mind the implementation of disruptive technologies for the improvement of the care service, however, the appropriate importance is not yet given to hospital infrastructure, which is the backbone of buildings as complex as hospitals and clinics.
The use of technologies would facilitate the prolongation of the life cycle of these places and the proper functioning of the different sub-systems that compose them, guaranteeing the safety of patients and continuity in services.
"If we do not manage to consolidate a convergence where the different areas within hospitals and clinics communicate with those in charge of their infrastructure and that this in turn communicates with clinical processes, it will not be possible for these entities to stand out in the future, because with the increase in the connection of technological devices and the storage of data that we are collecting, we are already witnessing some crises that affect its operation," says Gerónimo Arrieta, leader of the Healthcare segment for the Andean cluster at Schneider Electric.
Failures in equipment or machines can occur for different reasons, and in most cases they are due to mechanical situations and not due to human errors. The main elements that influence the damage of the assets are related to the malfunction of the electrical system and temperature and humidity conditions that they need to operate.
"The message we want to convey from Schneider Electric in the international health month (celebrated in April), is precisely to raise awareness about the importance of hospital infrastructure and how it directly impacts the safety and satisfaction of patients, as well as business continuity. For this, it will be essential to implement technological solutions based on IOT, artificial intelligence and augmented reality that are not distant from our reality and that we already see linked to care procedures such as, for example, TeleHealth" adds Marcos Felicio, Regional Architect of Solutions for buildings at Schneider Electric
TeleHealth represents an important advance in the evolution of medicine, but it is also a challenge for infrastructure, since all the elements that will make remote medical evaluation possible are electronic elements that require support in issues of energy quality, data processing and environmental conditions (humidity, temperature).
Here are some key points and tools that are often invisible to those who work in the sector.
In the case of TeleHealth, it is important to have the use of meters, one of the most important tools to perform an in-depth analysis of energy quality, measuring and evaluating key parameters that guarantee the continuity of the service and will allow those responsible for the hospital infrastructure to have a complete vision of the behavior of their facilities and clinical assets.
Another point that becomes very relevant and requires exhaustive control and monitoring are the equipment of the HVAC system, which is responsible for 50% of electricity consumption in clinics and hospitals. These equipment not only have the obligation to maintain the appropriate temperature, but also allows the necessary air changes to prevent contagion of any kind, taking into account that according to a study by the World Health Organization 8% of people who enter a hospital with a disease A, leave infected with a disease B, due to misuse of air.
Given this, the vast majority of these places have a control and monitoring system, which is not given the correct use, because according to statements by experts, they are underutilized platforms and affirm that, the so-called BMS system, Building Management System, integrated into the business, will allow a reduction in the use of air conditioning and electricity, thus reporting both energy and economic savings.
"Additionally, Colombia and most countries in South America currently have a high rate of fire accidents in hospitals, all the electrical distribution of these infrastructures is at constant risk, because their machines are working at the highest level and consuming a large amount of electricity being evident that people are not aware that electricity is a force of nature that is not so easy to control.
Finally, when a design and construction or modernization process begins, it is important to apply cybersecure solutions and platforms that involve IoT to measure and monitor the different resources to which people will have access, as well as complementing AI tools that allow efficiently processing the data collected to take more convenient actions for business continuity, patient safety and satisfaction.
Given the answer on how the sector can transform its infrastructure to evolve, the company concludes that it is necessary to be clear that hospitals and clinics are living organisms in constant change, which require them to be given all the importance of the case, because here people's lives are prioritized.
