Technology Project pertinent to their practice environment

Technology Proposal Project

( TECHNOLOGY PROPOSAL PROJECT ) ( 10 )

Implementation of Autonomous Robots in the Nursing Practice Environment

Technology is advancing and proving itself useful in different areas of life. Healthcare is one aspect that has been of great significance to people because of the goal of overall good public health. Nursing and assistive robots are very effective supplemental components in care settings. According to Christoforou et al., the broader scope of telerobotics and telemedicine has created an opportunity for enhanced capabilities in the care environment (2020). Autonomous robots in the nursing practice environment would immensely contribute to the care setting and the nursing profession. Robotics hardware widens telepresence to a more efficient and natural level via mobility and performance of various roles.

While many may claim that autonomous robots are replacing nursing jobs, this is far from true. Autonomous mobile robots are contributing a lot to the healthcare industry. This paper seeks to discuss the implementation of TUG service robots in the hospital while providing a rationale, background discussion, and clinical goals and objectives of the technology project, including evidence-based research to support the paper.

Rationale Topic Chosen

From pizza ordering to financial security, technology is rapidly growing and advancing, thus changing people's daily lives. Today, more than ever, technology is finding its niche in the healthcare field. The healthcare field impacts everyone due to its explicit association with public health wellness. The rationale for the chosen topic is that nursing practice needs significant improvements, and implementing autonomous robots would be a great way to achieve all that. Artificial intelligence is a chance for a significant change in the healthcare field. Nursing has

been a great profession, and implementing autonomous robots would help hospitals cut their expenses by a considerable percentage.

The reason behind choosing this topic for the technology project is because of the immense passion for the nursing field. It remains a crucial fact that nurses are critical in healthcare and play significant roles in patient care. Nurses have the most direct contact with patients, and implementing autonomous robots would help reduce the high nurse turnover and burnout rates within healthcare facilities. This proposal seeks to add to the research regarding robotic technology and how healthcare management and leadership teams can contribute towards making autonomous robots a reality for healthcare hospitals.

Description of project

The effective handling of logistics within the hospital contributes significantly to quality patient care and good workflow. However, handling logistics has been challenging, hence the need for mobile courier robots, particularly the TUG. The TUG robots will be beneficial and an added advantage to the hospital. The primary technology to implement here is Tug robots within the care facility. Aethon is a company that makes mobile courier service devices. Aethon, a company based in Pittsburgh, created TUG robot technology to perform transportation and delivery for healthcare staff. This would give the healthcare workers more time to engage with their patients.

TUG uses a built-in map and sensors to navigate hospital halls and rooms. The service robot can communicate with fire alarms, elevators, and automatic doors through WI-FI. Although TUG is unlikely to discuss aspects of life or its meaning, it can communities many phrases, including "please don't push TUG into elevator," "waiting for clear path," or "departing

now." The technology project will also entail establishing charging stations for the TUG robots. Charging of the TUG robots will occur when they are not at work.

TUG robots are also user-friendly as they, as staff members, can use simple terms such as "start," "stop," and "lift" buttons, including a touch screen, which shows their drop-off and pick- up assignments. As security is vital in the hospital environment, TUG robots have secure compartments to transport elements like specimens and medications safely. In addition, the closed containers can only be accessed through fingerprint identification which ensures that unauthorized personnel cannot access them.

This project will be vital to the hospital and the overall operation of different tasks. As described, TUG robots can communicate using simple and easily understandable words and phrases. Service robots are essential in a healthcare environment as they increase efficiency and provide better standards for everyone involved. This project will be vital to the environment as it will aid in achieving the hospital's goal to improve care delivery and increase patient and staff satisfaction.

Background Discussion

Quality healthcare is a multifaceted aspect that requires extreme attention. Nurses are the primary link between patients and physicians and quality health care. It is undisputed that they are the most significant task force in healthcare delivery, yet they experience the biggest challenges in the healthcare field. Nurses must consistently execute the medical guidelines physicians provide, and running the instructions for different patients can be tedious. There is a continued demand for service robots to aid nurses and healthcare workers to enhance productivity.

Nurses are highly subjected to physical strain and stress, which can sometimes yield musculoskeletal injuries caused by manually lifting or moving patients and equipment (Lonner et al., 2019). There continue to be efforts put toward easing physical work and enhancing the constant movement of hospital staff around facilities. An example of a mobile robotic device utilized is the Robotic Nurse Assistant ("HStar Technologies, Burlingham, MA") (Lonner et al., 2019). It is modeled to help the nursing staff reposition and transport patients, thus lowering work-related injury risks.

Occupational hazards in healthcare settings are very high. An infectious disease outbreak requires minimal contact between people, and technological appliances can help in such cases. For instance, the ebola outbreak motivated duke engineers to work on a telerobotic intelligent nursing assistant to aid in the delivery of materials, medicines, supplies, and patient positioning in cases deemed too dangerous for healthcare personnel. Some of the services nurses perform tend to be tiresome, thus posing extreme risks of exhaustion, yielding increased stress among the staff. Technology is one practical approach to reducing nursing professionals' workload within the hospital environment. Technology will reduce fatigue and increase the efficiency of the flow of services.

As the number of in-patients continues to grow, so does the number of nurses working in healthcare facilities. The rising healthcare expenditure is one factor leading to the need for more nurses in healthcare facilities. Hospitals have chosen to limit the number of nurses to lower the high costs associated with paying them while introducing overtime rules to satisfy the high demand for service delivery. The few staff left behind must work long hours with little rest and increased workload. The duties continue to become more daunting as the patient numbers grow.

According to Singh et al., total joint arthroplasty (TJA) patients are likely to continue increasing in the United States, with both younger and older patients undergoing related procedures (2019). This indicates an increase in the number of numbers providing care to patients in the future. The need for autonomous mobile delivery robots would be beneficial in this area.

Clinical Goals and Objectives and Significance discussion

Every project bears particular goals and objectives, including the significance of those objectives. The implementation of autonomous mobile service robots has the goals of reducing staff workload, improving the workflow of operations, cutting down costs brought by turnover and staff burnout, and increasing staff and patient satisfaction levels. The main goal is to improve the efficiency of hospital operations. This project will allow the nursing staff to have fewer roles and thus care for their patients much better. Providing quality care is very important, and implementing TUG robots will play a significant role in achieving it.

The significance of this project cuts across the whole hospital setting. TUG robots perform across all departments, including nursing, pharmacy, lab, food service, environmental, and linen. For instance, with TUG, nurses are more aware of the arrival time of tests, medications, meals, and supplies. As service robots, TUG robots reduce movement and calling time, thus yielding higher job satisfaction and more time for patient care. In the pharmacy department, the TUG robots can securely deliver medications via the hospital and directly to the nursing units. The securing and automation of deliveries, usually created via pneumatic tubes and manual couriers, is significant. In the lab, TUG robots will eliminate the strains and restrictions tied to pneumatic systems. Through biometric technology, TUG ensures that no unauthorized personnel adds or removes specimens to the secured cabinets.

Eating food on time is crucial for patient care. Some patients cannot quickly move and, therefore, usually require food taken to their bedside. Food delivery using robotics increases hygiene as it enhances the quality delivery of food per hygienic standards (Khan et al., 2020). Using TUG technology, the delivery of meals will be automated and cost-effective across all floors and return the dirty food trays. It reduces the time staff spends delivering food and moving up and down. Additionally, it gives staff time to manage patients' dietary needs and interact with them. The environment of any healthcare setting must be clean and easy to move around without significant obstacles. The hospital will use TUG service robots to have a better waste removal management system. It is because the system can integrate TUG robots to automate dumping equipment enabling the cart to empty without any staff assistance, which is particularly useful after hours.

Logistics handling will also apply in delivering linen to and from nursing units. This will save housekeeping staff from unnecessarily leaving the nursing units for linen supplies because implementing this technology will ensure the delivery of supplies where needed. The above- discussed areas illustrate the significance of implementing autonomous mobile service robots in the hospital, as this will improve everything from ground zero. Introducing service robots in the hospital setting will help streamline operations, improve the layout, and cut down many hours which would have been used in up and down movement within the facility.

Include evidence-based research to support the paper, at least three

According to Holland et al., the service robotics field has grown extensively. Many challenges relate to providing interpersonal care. The covid-19 outbreak was a wake-up call to the necessity of service robotics in the care industry. Service robotics would have helped move

medical supplies and food for patients within hospital facilities. The covid-19 pandemic required the most minimal contact. Using service robots would have limited levels of person-to-person contact and compensate for the significant rise in burnout and loss of healthcare workers due to the infectious disease. For instance, nurses can use robotics to measure by using thermal sensors to enhance screening efficiency.

Law et al. (2021) conducted two case studies to determine the "usability, acceptability, and functionality of autonomous mobile delivery robots" within real-world healthcare environments. The devices under study were two GoCart delivery robots that aided in the delivery of urine and blood samples at a pathology laboratory and meals at a residential care facility. The researchers conducted this operation for two weeks, whereby the findings regarding the efficacies of these devices proved that autonomous mobile delivery robots reduced staff workload and improved efficiency. However, there still needs to be enhancements in adapting service robots, like using accommodative sizes and screens. On the other hand, the case studies proved that using autonomous mobile delivery robots can be helpful in pathology laboratory areas and residential care facilities.

An example of a healthcare center that utilized TUG robotics and proved successful is the "University of Maryland Medical Center." The report showed that the health care center saved many hours previously applied in locating medication. After 1year of implementing TUG robots for delivering, tracking, and retrieving medications within the trauma department, the care center reported a 40% decrease in medication delivery times and a 23% improvement in delivery reliability (Lonner et al., 2019). With such a record, the center introduced more TUG robotic systems, which have promoted monitoring and delivering effectiveness. Incorporating service robots optimizes staff utilization and availability for patient care. Although up-front costs can be

high, implementing service robots within the hospital setting will contain certain costs yielding long-term cost savings. For example, in 2010, a care center in Mountain view leased 19 delivery robots and made annual savings of roughly $650,000 compared to paying hospital staff to perform the same duties (Lonner et al., 2019). Generally, the movement of nurses from one point to another when conducting pathology tests can be tedious. Minimized movement of staff can improve their morale to continue providing patient care.

Market/Financial Project Analysis

In 2018, the mobile robotics market size was valued at $9,340 million and was projected to reach $39,585 million by 2026constituting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.5 percent from 2019-2026. Being the top contributor to this market, with $3,933.1 in 2018, North America is estimated to register a CAGR of 19.4%, which is $14,492.1 million by 2026 (Rahul, 2019). The robotic technology market is experiencing continued growth in commercial and industrial adoption of robotic systems. This advancement has also ventured into the healthcare industry, providing various applications. Medical device manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, and care settings use robots. The application of service mobile robots in this market involves specimen delivery, pick and place, patient care, and transportation. Different technology companies are venturing into the market of medical-related technology because different care- related settings are adopting these technologies. Factors such as the increasing need for safety for human life support the need for the continued design of more robotics that meet people's emerging and reemerging needs globally.

The robotics market is growing, so competition is projected to be very stiff. A growing market only means the competition is growing; therefore, the hospital should ensure that it stays caught up, as this might impact its operation and reputation. The reduction in the movement of

nurses will ensure the hospital can save so much of the time spent locating medication and transporting them to the target patient. The hospital will also increase employee morale to keep working, thus providing better patient-care services. High patient satisfaction encourages more people to seek healthcare services from the hospital, thus generating more income for the hospital. The nurse-to-patient ratio is balanced because nurses have more time to attend to their patients without getting tired or any burnout. Therefore, implementing TUG as the autonomous mobile robotic in the hospital will reduce nurse turnover rates, thus saving the hospital the expenses and time associated with the constant recruiting and hiring of hospital staff.

Financially, this project will be beneficial to the hospital. However, the initial implementation cost will be very high. Integrating TUG robots in the hospital will require enough finances to buy the equipment and an area used as a charging station. It will mean that more storage room and more power are needed. Training of the staff is also necessary to ensure people are well-informed on the appropriate use of robotics. Some of the hospital halls will have to be restructured to ensure the easy movement of the TUG robots as they move from one point to another. The finances for implementing TUG robots will be very costly, but this ensures that the long-term costs are minimized. Saving time also ensures containing some cost, thus cutting down on some expenses.

Conclusion.

This paper is a technology project proposal on implementing autonomous robots in the nursing practice environment. It has described TUG robots and their potential for the hospital. The market of robotics is growing and will only continue to do so. This expansion affects all industries and especially the healthcare field. People's health is essential, and considering the

recent Covid-19 outbreak, robotics in healthcare is more vital now than ever. Handling and managing logistics can take much work for hospitals, often yielding inevitable mistakes that mobile robots can help avoid. As discussed, care centers like the "University of Maryland Medical Center" have adopted the TUG robotics technology. Aethon's development of TUG robotics has been beneficial for all healthcare settings.

Nursing has its fair share of challenges that impact how nurses deliver services. Providing high-quality care is very important, which the ANA code of ethics supports. Patients are a priority because the services delivered should be of high quality. Using TUG robots enhances the hospital's logistics, ensuring that the care center operates smoothly. Also, this technology will reduce nurse turnover rates and burnout, improving the quality of care delivered. The TUG robots would be helpful across different hospital areas, including linen, nursing, pharmacy, lab, food service, and environmental.

vidently, nurses spend a good proportion of their time participating in the delivery

cycle at the expense of their patients’ care. The time saved by employing the new logistical solution will accord the staff more time for patient care. Undoubtedly, the more time spent on the patient, the greater the patient satisfaction and remission rate. With this the principle that call for s a patient-centered system will be achieved. Nevertheless, nurses end up feeling satisfied with the work done thus improving their level of participation in clinical roles.

vidently, nurses spend a good proportion of their time participating in the delivery

cycle at the expense of their patients’ care. The time saved by employing the new logistical solution will accord the staff more time for patient care. Undoubtedly, the more time spent on the patient, the greater the patient satisfaction and remission rate. With this the principle that call for s a patient-centered system will be achieved. Nevertheless, nurses end up feeling satisfied with

the work done thus improving their level of participation in clinical roles. vidently, nurses spend a good proportion of their time participating in the delivery

cycle at the expense of their patients’ care. The time saved by employing the new logistical solution will accord the staff more time for patient care. Undoubtedly, the more time spent on the patient, the greater the patient satisfaction and remission rate. With this the principle that call for s a patient-centered system will be achieved. Nevertheless, nurses end up feeling satisfied with the work done thus improving their level of participation in clinical roles.

Evidently, nurses neglect to sufficiently care for their patients by spending a significant amount of time participating in the delivery cycle. The team will have more time to focus on patient care because to the time saved by using the new logistical solution. Without a doubt, patient satisfaction and the likelihood of remission increase with the amount of time spent on the patient. This will help to realize the idea of a system that prioritizes the needs of the patient. However, nurses eventually come to feel content with the task completed, which raises their level of participation in clinical roles. Generally, the hospital needs to consider implementing autonomous mobile robots in the practice environment, as this will be more beneficial.

References

Christoforou, E. G., Avgousti, S., Ramdani, N., Novales, C., & Panayides, A. S. (2020). The upcoming role for nursing and assistive robotics: Opportunities and challenges ahead. Frontiers in Digital Health, 2, 585656. https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffdgth.2020.585656

Holland, J., Kingston, L., McCarthy, C., Armstrong, E., O’Dwyer, P., Merz, F., & McConnell,

M. (2021). Service robots in the healthcare sector. Robotics, 10(1), 47. https://doi.org/10.3390/robotics10010047

Khan, Z. H., Siddique, A., & Lee, C. W. (2020). Robotics utilization for healthcare digitization in global COVID-19 management. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(11), 3819. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17113819

Law, M., Ahn, H. S., Broadbent, E., Peri, K., Kerse, N., Topou, E., … & MacDonald, B. (2021).

Case studies on the usability, acceptability and functionality of autonomous mobile delivery robots in real-world healthcare settings. Intelligent Service Robotics, 14(3), 387- 398.

Lonner, J. H., Zangrilli, J., & Saini, S. (2019). Emerging robotic technologies and innovations for hospital process improvement. Robotics in Knee and Hip Arthroplasty, 233-243.

Rahul. K. (2019) Mobile robotics market size, share and forecast – 2031, Allied Market Research. Available at: https:// www.alliedmarketresearch.com/mobile-robotics-market (Accessed: January 20, 2023).

Singh, J. A., Yu, S., Chen, L., & Cleveland, J. D. (2019). Rates of total joint replacement in the United States: future projections to 2020–2040 using the national inpatient sample. The Journal of rheumatology, 46(9), 1134-1140. https://doi.org/10.3899/jrheum.170990

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