5 tips to maximize ROI with Alexa Smart Properties for healthcare

Alexa Smart Properties for Healthcare provides hospitals, clinics, and other facilities with voice-driven experiences that help patients regain control, empower care teams, and differentiate your facility.

By carefully considering both quantitative financial metrics and qualitative improvements in patient experience, healthcare facilities can leverage ASP for significant benefits.

This article, written by Alexa leader Paul Socha, provides five distinct strategies for maximizing ROI from ASP for healthcare solutions. As a Senior Solutions Architect on Alexa Smart Properties, Socha is at the helm of the healthcare vertical, tasked with the strategic deployment of Alexa devices across various healthcare settings, including inpatient and outpatient facilities. His role involves creating and implementing tailored solutions to integrate Alexa technology effectively, whether in rehabilitation hospitals, traditional inpatient hospitals, or clinics.

Understanding ROI: qualitative and quantitative metrics

ASP brings a host of qualitative benefits that, while not directly measurable in financial terms, significantly enhance patient satisfaction and experience. For instance, the deployment of ASP allows expecting mothers to use Alexa for entertainment or reminders, making their hospital stay more pleasant. Similarly, the introduction of sleep sounds and white noise can improve patient rest by masking hospital noises, directly contributing to patient recovery and satisfaction.

On the quantitative side, ASP enables healthcare facilities to realize direct cost savings and operational efficiencies. For example, integrating ASP with food ordering systems can reduce the time nurses spend on administrative tasks, allowing them to focus more on patient care. This not only improves the efficiency of nursing staff but also contributes to cost savings by optimizing staff deployment. Another example is the analysis of blanket requests, which led to a reduction in nurse requests and calls, showcasing a clear quantitative benefit from deploying ASP.

The five tips provided below will enable healthcare facilities to leverage ASP to deliver tangible improvements to qualitative and quantitative metrics.

1. Start with out-of-the-box features, then pursue custom capabilities

Deploying ASP begins with leveraging its out-of-the-box capabilities to immediately enhance the patient experience. This initial step focuses on qualitative improvements by providing patients with access to a range of services, including entertainment, information, and environmental controls, through simple voice commands. The initial deployment allows healthcare facilities to collect critical feedback from patients and staff on the system's impact and areas for improvement.

This feedback paves the way for targeted integrations with hospital systems, shifting towards a quantitative ROI. For example, integrating ASP with food ordering services can streamline operations, reducing the time nurses spend on non-clinical tasks and thereby increasing their availability for patient care. This approach not only improves operational efficiency but also contributes to staff satisfaction by alleviating workload pressures.

2. Engage leadership and staff

Garnering and expanding support for ASP deployment requires presenting a compelling case to hospital leadership, focusing on both the quantitative and qualitative benefits. A persuasive tool is the use of analytics and data. For example, a spreadsheet demonstrating device usage and patient engagement can illustrate ASP's positive impact, such as reduced nurse workload for non-clinical requests and improved patient satisfaction scores. This data-driven approach can effectively convince leadership of ASP's value, supporting the case for further investment and integration.

To win leadership support, staff can also showcase real-life success stories and the direct impact of ASP on patient care and staff workload. For instance, presenting case studies where ASP has significantly reduced the number of non-clinical inquiries to nurses, or where patient feedback has highlighted the positive impact of Alexa’s presence in their room, can resonate strongly with both hospital leadership and frontline staff. These stories not only illustrate the tangible benefits of ASP but also help in painting a vivid picture of its potential to transform patient experiences and operational efficiencies.

In addition, highlighting instances where ASP has enabled staff to focus more on patient care rather than administrative tasks can further underline the system's value, fostering a supportive environment for its adoption and integration. This dual approach of combining data-driven insights with compelling anecdotal evidence ensures a comprehensive understanding of ASP's benefits across the organization, facilitating a more unified and enthusiastic adoption.

3. Use analytics to drive decisions

ASP's analytics capabilities offer insights into patient and staff interactions with the system, allowing healthcare administrators to identify high-demand services and guiding future integrations. For instance, analytics revealing a high number of requests for blankets can prompt hospitals to adjust protocols to ensure rooms are adequately stocked, reducing repetitive nurse tasks and enhancing patient comfort. Such targeted actions, informed by ASP analytics, underline the system's role in improving operational efficiency and patient care quality.

Leveraging analytics to drive decisions around ASP implementation goes beyond simply tracking usage metrics; it involves deep analysis to understand patient behaviors, preferences, and the overall impact on hospital operations. By examining the data collected from ASP interactions, healthcare facilities can identify patterns and trends that may not be immediately apparent. For example, if analytics reveal a high frequency of requests for specific information or services during certain times of the day, this insight can lead to targeted improvements, such as adjusting staff shifts to better meet patient needs or enhancing ASP’s content to address common queries. Additionally, analytics can help in identifying areas where ASP could be further optimized or integrated with other hospital systems to improve efficiency and patient satisfaction. This proactive use of data not only maximizes the ROI of ASP but also fosters a culture of continuous improvement and innovation within the healthcare facility, ensuring that both patient care and operational efficiency are always aligned with the latest insights and trends.

4. Select the right device type for your needs

The choice between multimodal devices and devices without screens significantly impacts ASP's service scope. Multimodal devices offer additional benefits, such as displaying menus and rotating cards, improving service speed, and reducing the burden on staff. This capability enhances patient convenience and satisfaction by providing easy access to information and services, illustrating the added value of multimodal devices in creating a more engaging and informative patient environment.

It's essential to consider the specific needs and circumstances of the healthcare environment. Multimodal devices, with their screen capabilities, offer a rich interaction experience, allowing patients to visually engage with the device for information, entertainment, and communication. This can be particularly beneficial in scenarios where visual feedback enhances comprehension and engagement, such as with elderly patients or those with hearing impairments. Conversely, the simplicity and voice-only interaction of headless devices may be preferable in settings where screen interactions are deemed unnecessary or could potentially cause confusion. Tailoring the device choice to the patient population's needs and the healthcare setting's goals ensures that the deployment of Alexa Smart Properties is as effective and beneficial as possible, maximizing both patient satisfaction and the technology's overall utility.

5. Align ASP deployment with hospital initiatives

Integrating Alexa Smart Properties (ASP) with broader hospital initiatives represents a strategic approach to maximize the technology's impact and ROI. A prime example of such alignment is the incorporation of ASP with new TV systems within patient rooms. This integration not only modernizes the patient entertainment experience by enabling voice-controlled navigation but also supports larger goals of improving patient satisfaction and engagement. By leveraging ASP in conjunction with other technological upgrades, healthcare facilities can ensure that their investments are complementary, providing a seamless and enhanced patient experience that aligns with the hospital's overall mission to deliver superior care and comfort.

The strategy of aligning ASP deployments with ongoing capital projects, such as updating TV systems, underscores the importance of a holistic approach to technology investment in healthcare settings. It demonstrates how simultaneous upgrades can work synergistically, enhancing patient satisfaction and operational efficiency in a manner that single initiatives might not achieve. This approach not only rationalizes the financial investment in new technologies but also ensures that each component of the hospital's technology ecosystem contributes to a cohesive patient care experience. By carefully planning ASP integrations to align with broader hospital projects and objectives, healthcare facilities can create an environment that leverages the full potential of technology to meet both current and future needs of patients and staff.

The strategic deployment of Alexa Smart Properties in healthcare can significantly enhance both patient experiences and operational efficiencies. By focusing on quantitative and qualitative metrics, leveraging analytics, selecting appropriate device types, and aligning ASP deployment with broader technological initiatives, healthcare facilities can maximize the ROI from their ASP investment. This strategy emphasizes the critical role of technology in modernizing patient care and operational processes, leading to improved outcomes for both patients and healthcare facilities.