Connected beds in non-ICU hospital wards can save over INR 2150 Cr per year for the public healthcare ecosystem in India

News Editor, Takmaa News, Kolkata, 23rd Jul 2022 : “Unlocking the potential of connected healthcare in India“, an independent report on technology solutions to ease critical gaps in the healthcare infrastructure of the country, was released today. The study revealed that automating patient monitoring through Dozee connected beds in non-ICU wards in public hospitals can address the shortage of ICU beds, doctors and nursing staff in India. At the same time, it can deliver higher patient safety, improved clinical outcomes and a considerable cost saving, estimated at INR 2150 Crore per annum. This study was conducted by Sattva Consulting in collaboration with Dozee, India’s first contactless Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Company.

The research report shows that connected beds can save up to 80% of nursing time used for monitoring patient vitals through manual spot-checks in non-ICU wards. Furthermore, connected beds outside the ICU can help reduce approximately 1.3 days of Average Length of Stay (ALOS) in the ICU, thus bridging the shortfall of ICU beds. This can also drive significant cost savings, roughly to the tune of INR 2.7 Crore for every 100 connected beds.

The study also highlights how connected contactless remote patient monitoring across public healthcare delivery systems could potentially unlock the treatment capacity for an additional 3 million patients (assuming peak capacity) by the Indian healthcare system. Deploying continuous patient monitoring and Early Warning Systems (EWS) can save approximately 144 lives for every 100 connected beds. Moreover, it is estimated that there is potential to save over 1,10,000 lives in India annually through initiatives such as Dozee’s MillionICU programme.

The research for this report was carried out in public hospitals that had adopted Dozee’s contactless Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and Early Warning System (EWS) as part of Dozee’s MillionICU initiative. Currently, India has an estimated 2 million hospital beds and 1.25 lakh ICU beds. However, more than 95% of the hospital beds in India are monitored sub-optimally with manual spot-checks leading to a reduced ability of early detection of patient’s deteriorating condition and increased workload on the under-resourced healthcare system. Given this scenario, the impact assessment study was conducted to better understand how the automation of patient monitoring across non-ICU wards could save a significant number of nursing hours, thereby positively impacting patient care and driving digital transformation.

The report also captured the views of nurses and doctors; 97% of them firmly believed that digitising patient health data was necessary for an efficient and optimised healthcare ecosystem.

Dr Vaishali Shelgaonkar, Associate Professor and HOD of the Department of Anaesthesia – Indira Gandhi Government Medical College & Hospital (IGGMC), said, “Implementing remote patient monitoring and early warning systems such as Dozee, in large public hospital facilities, 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.“

Mr Srikrishna Sridhar Murthy, CEO and Co-Founder, Sattva Consulting, noted “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. Innovations such as the connected beds from Dozee is one such, which can be a game changer to overcome the challenges in public healthcare in India.”