HOUSTON- March 9, 2021 - Through the use of Iristick smart glasses, the Houston Methodist Hospital Pharmacy Department is finding more efficient and new ways for training and education of pharmacists and other healthcare professionals.
Houston Methodist Hospital is highly accredited for its patient care and safety. As a leading academic medical center in the Texas Medical Center, it comprises seven hospitals serving the Greater Houston area. Their focus is on providing quality clinical care, advanced technology, and exceptional patient experience.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Houston Methodist appeared as pioneers in research and adoption of new technologies that foster safer and more efficient health care, with great focus on remote health care. A perfect fit for the Iristick smart glasses as the solution goes hand in hand with innovation within healthcare.
Use of the Iristick glasses was originally intended as an effective tool to improve educational training. As pioneers within MedTech, they implemented smart glasses for several use cases within the Pharmacy Department, aiming to later expand the technology to other departments. Iristick devices use an iOS phone-tethered solution that integrates seamlessly with the current hospital IT infrastructure.
Through remote assistance, whoever wears the glasses can easily video stream operations in the pharmacy while the residents and students are able to follow the procedure from the comfort of their homes. “We’ve been piloting the Iristick smart glasses since
September 2020 with great success. This technology has allowed us to connect learners and educators more efficiently, providing a positive experience and further enhancing our high education and care standards,” says Ghalib Abbasi, PharmD, MS, MBA, System Director of Pharmacy Informatics at Houston Methodist.
The Pharmacy Department also created standardized educational training videos demonstrating work processes, continuing the educational cycle and learning processes throughout the pandemic. “Remote training possibilities generally come down to more efficiency as the physical component is being removed with the use of smart glasses. Video streaming live workflow processes without the learner in close proximity is a new way of education that will undoubtedly continue after COVID”, Abbasi adds.
The Iristick smart glasses also proved valuable in providing a virtual campus tour for future or newly arrived staff and students, who were not allowed to access campus due to COVID restrictions. The two-way and real-time communication between the wearer who is giving the tour and the follower made it almost like a real experience.
The built-in barcode scanner will potentially come in handy for several reasons. Documentation of patient care activities can now be verified in real-time and with fewer errors. With one scan, medication and full medical history of the patient can be validated and tracked. The barcode scanner also serves as a fast and easy tool to have control over the pharmacy inventory as it moves through the hospital. What used to be a labor-intensive task, can now be handled automatically, and by wearing smart glasses, completely handsfree.
“This collaboration with Houston Methodist Hospital proves business value through Iristick smart glasses in healthcare. Not only in the operating theatre, but also in training and education of healthcare professionals. Houston Methodist is definitely leading the way in that area, and we are happy to work together on this journey,” says Johan De Geyter, CEO Iristick.
As the Iristick smart glasses have delivered amazing results for the hospital so far, the idea is to expand the use at a larger scale with ideally a few devices per department. With bigger groups being able to follow training processes remotely, this opens doors to a whole new frontier, where the ultimate goal is process improvement and training of masses of students at the same time.
ABOUT HOUSTON METHODIST
Houston Methodist is ranked by U.S. News & World Report as the No. 1 hospital in Texas for patient care and safety and one of the top 20 hospitals in the nation. In addition, they are nationally ranked in 11 specialties, the most in the state, and have been national leaders throughout the COVID-19 pandemic in research, offering innovative treatments and surpassing CDC safety standards. For more than 100 years, Houston Methodist has provided the best — and safest — clinical care, advanced technology and patient experience. That is our promise of leading medicine.
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