What makes a hospital intelligent? Based on exhibits in the Intelligent Health Pavilion at HIMSS15, it’s all about tracking, mobile and interconnectivity.

Managed by the Intelligent Hospital Association, the pavilion, now in its second year, features a suite of “intelligent” demonstrations of what a truly modernized healthcare experience should look like. Visitors are scanned at the pavilion's entrance, and are directed to sign up for demonstrations using a digital card system which tracks attendees and allows them to set their demonstration schedule in the pavilion.

The operating room might be the most sophisticated of the demonstrations, where attendees are given headsets to follow along with a recorded narration describing what the modern OR experience looks like.

The room is laced with screens, all displaying key data for the procedure. That even includes predictive analytics data on specific procedures, actual and forecasted outcomes.

Supplies are meticulously tracked, as student volunteers from the University of Illinois demonstrate how nurses log every supply used by scanning RFID badges, which not only track usage for accurate supply-chain monitoring, but can also flag expired supplies so they are not used on patients.

In the intelligent OR, the patient and all staff members wear RFID badges, which are scanned as they enter. Staff members also wear hands-free devices that enable them to receive communications in the room.

Anesthesia is monitored by devices linked to patient vitals, to avoid under or over sedation. All drugs are scanned and linked to the patient’s EHR. Faraway surgeons can offer feedback on the procedure through real-time cameras and video screens in the room. Pre-surgery tasks are checked through mobile devices. Infusion systems operate wirelessly.

Other demonstrations exhibit the same type of technology, from the supply room to the intensive-care unit.

This year’s demonstration also features the i-Home demonstrations, which show how the same kind of interconnectivity can work for patients who need some kind of health monitoring at home, ranging from acute care patients to those with longer-term conditions that require monitoring.

While there is an incredibly wide range of technology in use in the pavilion, including smart devices, displays, software and sensors, the process claims to be geared towards reducing redundancies and eliminating the kind of mistakes that can harm patients.