Internet of things in healthcare for patient safety: an empirical study

INTRODUCTION: This study evaluates the impact of an Internet of Things (IoT) intervention in a hospital unit and provides empirical evidence on the effects of smart technologies on patient safety (patient falls and hand hygiene compliance rate) and staff experiences. METHOD: We have conducted a post-intervention analysis of hand hygiene (HH) compliance rate, and a pre-and post-intervention interrupted time-series (ITS) analysis of the patient falls rates. Lastly, we investigated staff experiences by conducting semi-structured open-ended interviews based on Roger’s Diffusion of Innovation Theory. RESULTS: The results showed that (i) there was no statistically significant change in the mean patient fall rates. ITS analysis revealed non-significant incremental changes in mean patient falls (− 0.14 falls/quarter/1000 patient-days). (ii) HH compliance rates were observed to increase in the first year then decrease in the second year for all staff types and room types. (iii) qualitative interviews with the nurses reported improvement in direct patient care time, and a reduced number of patient falls. CONCLUSION: This study provides empirical evidence of some positive changes in the outcome variables of interest and the interviews with the staff of that unit reported similar results as well. Notably, our observations identified behavioral and environmental issues as being particularly important for ensuring success during an IoT innovation implementation within a hospital setting.