New Virtual Onsite Trainers Are Helping Hospitals Get The Most Out Of New Technology. PHOTO | COURTESY
In the hushed halls of the Universitario Quironsalud hospital in
Madrid, there’s a new sound — the chatter of experts who are thousands
of miles away helping doctors get the most out of their new high-tech
diagnostic equipment.
Their voices and faces are coming through live-stream from what looks like a video monitor hanging on a moveable metal stand.
From
anywhere in the world, a medical specialist can deliver their expertise
through the virtual onsite trainer and remotely turn the monitor 360
degrees to view machinery and personally train technicians in the room.
They
can zoom in and focus on the tiniest details. The monitor is also
equipped with a remote laser pointer so the expert can direct the
radiology technician’s hands to particular buttons on the machine or
point out areas of interest.
Through the monitor, they can share slides and other educational materials during the discussion.
Meet
the Virtual Onsite trainer (VOT), a Wi-Fi-enabled, battery-operated
mobile device that replicates face-to-face training. The system, which
can be moved to any part of the hospital, is an important part of GE’s
digital strategy.
As technology speeds ahead, hospitals
have more and more access to cutting-edge imaging and diagnostic tools.
Usually, with any new piece of equipment, an expert will come to the
hospital and train the people who will be using the new technology. But
too often that training isn’t enough or there is staff turnover and the
people who knew how to use the machines leave.
“With
this new technology, we can provide better continuous training on the
latest imaging technology to our cardiologists,” says Dr. José A.
Cabrera, chief of cardiology at the Madrid hospital.
“We
can now have much simpler and frequent access to the experts who can
show us how to use the latest imaging technologies. In fact, based on
our experience so far with this new solution, it’s basically as good as
having the expert trainer next to us in the same room.”
“With
this new technology, we can provide better continuous training on the
latest imaging technology to our cardiologists,” says Dr. José A.
Cabrera, chief of cardiology at the Madrid hospital. Image credit: GE
Healthcare
The VOT system prototype has been tested in
Spain, Australia and the United States over the past 12 months. By the
end of the year, 15 hospitals in the U.S. and four European hospitals
will integrate the technology into everyday use.
GE
Healthcare is investing more than $1 billion to train 2 million health
professionals globally between 2015 and 2020. The VOT enables customers
to train more people, more frequently, without requiring them to leave
the hospital.
“The goal is to digitise some elements of
expert training around the world while keeping highly effective
hands-on live interaction,” explains Mario Lois, general manager of
global education services at GE Healthcare.
He says
there are 1,500 GE healthcare experts globally who are now more
accessible to customers than if we only relied on physically traveling
to each site.
“Most of our customers around the world
are good at using our equipment. Now we can help them go from good to
great, improving productivity and patient care,” he says.
Initial
concerns about healthcare providers feeling uneasy about talking to
what is essentially a robot have proven unfounded. One technician
compared it to having someone there to help when you first bring home a
new baby.
“This technology is very exciting because it
enables the humans on both ends to interact in extremely efficient ways
not possible before,” Lois says.
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