Impacts of Healthcare 4.0 digital technologies on the resilience of hospitals

Abstract

Healthcare 4.0 (H4.0) adapts principles and applications from the Industry 4.0 movement to healthcare, enabling real-time customization of care to patients and professionals. As such, H4.0 can potentially support resilient performance in healthcare systems, which refers to their adaptive capacity to cope with complexity. This paper explores the impact of ten H4.0 digital technologies on four abilities of resilient systems (monitor, anticipate, respond, and learn) in the context of hospitals. For that, we conducted a survey with 109 resilient healthcare and H4.0 experts from both emerging and developed economies. The collected data were analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistical techniques. Our findings indicate four H4.0 digital technologies that have a strong impact on the four resilience abilities: remote consultations and development of plan of care in real time; digital non-invasive care; interconnected medical emergency support; and digital platforms for collaborative sharing of patient data and information. These technologies can reduce over-reliance on human adaptive skills while at the same time offering new and expanded opportunities for resilient performance in healthcare.