Upgrading hospital beds to connected ones can help the Indian public health system save as much as INR 21.5 billion ($268.7 million) each year while addressing shortfalls in ICU beds, doctors, and nursing staff, according to a recent independent report.

Local social impact consultant Sattva Consulting released a report that assessed the impact of a remote patient monitoring device by medical device maker Dozee on medical staff workload, quality of patient care and operational cost, digitisation of patient vitals, as well as studied its adoption and acceptance among hospital staff.

Dozee transforms hospital beds into connected beds through its AI-powered remote patient monitoring device, a thin sensor sheet placed under the mattress which tracks an individual's vital measurements.

FINDINGS

The impact assessment report showed that using connected beds can save up to 80% of nursing time for manually checking patients' vitals in non-ICU wards. These can also help bring down the average length of stay in the ICU to approximately 1.3 days, plugging the shortage in ICU beds.

The study also noted that for every 100 connected beds, approximately 144 lives could be saved. Dozee currently is carrying out its MillionICU programme which seeks to convert one million hospital ward beds into connected beds, potentially saving over 110,000 lives.

Moreover, the report indicated that most doctors and nurses interviewed support the digitisation of patient health data, believing that it is "necessary for an efficient and optimised healthcare ecosystem". 

The impact study gathered views and insights from 79 medical professionals in six public hospitals that are involved in the MillionICU project by Dozee.

WHY IT MATTERS

Presently, India has an estimated two million hospital beds and 125,000 ICU beds. About 95% of these beds are being poorly monitored through manual checks, "leading to a reduced ability of early detection of patient's deteriorating condition and increased workload on the under-resourced healthcare system," the report said.

The study was also done to see how automating patient monitoring by upgrading hospital beds into connected beds would impact patient care and drive digital transformation.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

AI is increasingly being applied to new remote patient monitoring solutions that are being offered in India. Early this year, Healthnet Global under the Apollo Hospitals Group released its smart in-patient room automation system called AutoMaid with remote patient monitoring and triaging features.

Last year, Medtronic India started offering Statis Health's AI-powered bedside patient monitoring system in the country. The Stasis Monitor consists of a bedside monitor that tracks six vital signs, a tablet, and a cloud-connected app that enables remote monitoring across devices. 

ON THE RECORD

"[The] COVID-19 pandemic brought home the critical need to improve the healthcare infrastructure sector in the country. While the government has initiated measures to improve access and outcomes such as Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, there is also a strong need for technology and innovations, through the private sector and via public-private partnerships, to bridge the gap and accelerate better health outcomes for all," said Srikrishna Sridhar Murthy, CEO and co-Founder of Sattva Consulting.

"Implementing remote patient monitoring and early warning systems such as Dozee in large public hospital facilities [and] care facilities saved significant time and energy for nurses in terms of patient monitoring, enabling them to perform other care-related responsibilities more efficiently. It also added to patient safety, besides digital monitoring capabilities that helped identify patients at high-mid-low risk, further enabling prioritisation of critical patients," Dr Vaishali Shelgaonkar, head of the Department of Anaesthesia at Indira Gandhi Government Medical College & Hospital, also commented.