Optimal Hospital is a reimagined inpatient environment that uses innovative tools, technologies, and processes to provide more efficient, patient-centric care.

Optimal Hospital is a reimagined inpatient environment that uses innovative tools, technologies, and processes to provide more efficient, patient-centric care.

Take a virtual tour or read on to discover how Optimal Hospital can transform the hospital stay experience in four ways:

Increased patient engagement

• Tablets activated with MyOchsner Bedside allow patients to view their medical records, see their daily schedule, record important health information, complete educations, request comforts, and more.

Improved sleep quality

• Wireless vitals monitors affixed to patients’ wrists continuously collect and transmit to Epic blood pressures, SpO2 levels, heart rates, and skin temperatures without the need to disturb the patients.
• Soft red lighting in the room provides a less disruptive option for staff checking on patients in the night.
• Noise monitors in the corridors notify passerby when their volume is above the set decibel level and automatically record each instance of a noise event to be addressed by unit leaders.
• Routine morning labs delayed until after 6 a.m. allow patients the opportunity to sleep for longer.

Enhanced patient safety

• If any vitals readings are out-of-range, the nursing team is automatically notified via their smartphones to check on the patient.
• Copper-infused materials, including bed linens and bathroom grab bars, naturally kill 99.9% of bacteria within two hours of contact, as well as many viruses and fungi.
• Tablets are charged in UV light cabinets to disinfect between uses.

Increased staff efficiency

• Vitals automatically transferred to the medical record can be quickly and accurately filed to patient records.
• Patient education sent directly to patient tablets minimizes the amount of necessary in-person instruction.

Studies have proven the efficacy of these improvements, showing Optimal Hospital decreased length of stay by 8.6 hours, decreased 30-day readmissions by 16%, decreased 60-day readmissions by 12%, and reduced ICU transfers. Optimal Hospital also improved HCAHPS scores in four areas: overall health, medication understanding, quietness at night, and pain management.

The program has been featured by Mobi Health News and in MD Magazine’s four-part interview series with Dr. Robert Bober: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

While Optimal Hospital is not currently available in all of Ochsner's hospital rooms, it could be expanded in the future.