How Smart Hospitals Push Forward From Pilot to Practice

OhioHealth Teams Up for Design and Implementation

In Columbus, Ohio, it’s already been a few years since Pickerington Methodist Hospital, the newest facility in the OhioHealth network, went live with 90 smart rooms.

A multidisciplinary team at OhioHealth designed the layout and technology specifications for the hospital. Tom Gutman, adviser and senior creative technologist, and Erika Braun, adviser for user experience and product design, were part of the working group that formed in 2021.

Braun described how the team started the process by surveying the needs of multiple stakeholders. “We had to really understand the biggest problems to solve for our health system, such as throughput, quality, staffing and access, but also for our end users — patients, families, both clinical and nonclinical associates — to learn what was not working for them in the current hospital setting and help us imagine what working and receiving care in a smart hospital might look like,” she says.

The team distilled the findings into key pillars that were used to guide the design, which included having a more personal touch (“Patients didn’t want to be treated like a number,” Braun says); efficiencies for clinical staff; and improved communication and connections, so the care team, patients and families would all be more engaged.

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After testing multiple solutions with end users in a mock hospital space, the team implemented a comprehensive, interconnected smart ecosystem combining both digital and nondigital solutions. This includes in-room smart TVs, cameras, digital whiteboards, door signage, virtual nursing and an integrated nurse call system all working together to create a seamless, comfortable and supportive care environment. One of the features includes connected staff badges, so when a care team member walks into a room, their name and credentials immediately appear on the patient’s TV, which then transitions to show important clinical information about the patient’s care, for shared understanding.

In 2025, the team completed 26 more smart rooms, this time in one of the older hospitals in the OhioHealth system.

“We implemented the TV experience with the digital whiteboard and the cameras, as well as the digital door sign,” Gutman says. “So far, we’ve had a great reception, and now we’re strategically mapping which locations could be next. It’s easier to plan for it when you’re doing a new build, but we’re looking where the greatest needs are for smart rooms in our system and how to best retrofit them with the smart hospital technologies we use — not just based on the physical space, but on the needs of the hospital, care teams and the patients they serve.”