CLEARWATER, Fla: BayCare is utilizing Aiva technology in 2,500 hospital rooms across 14 Tampa Bay-area hospitals. Patients will experience smart rooms that allow them to connect with their care team and control devices like the television - all hands-free.

The technology is now being deployed at St. Joseph's Hospital-North in Lutz before being implemented system-wide by BayCare into other hospitals. BayCare hopes to have the technology in place across its entire system by the end of 2021.

BayCare uses a health care-specific platform known as Aiva to handle patient requests. Requests are immediately sent to the correct support person based on what a patient tells Aiva via an Alexa device installed in their room. The care team member receives the request on their BayCare iPhone specifically deployed for communications.

The patient can simply ask Alexa for things they need like a blanket or a glass of water, said Craig Anderson, BayCare director of innovation. Aiva interprets all those requests and sends it to right person. It is a seamless connection between the patient and their care team.

The technology was piloted at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa and Winter Haven Hospital in 2019 before being put in use at St. Joseph's Hospital-North in late 2020. Patients were highly satisfied with the Aiva technology in surveys during the pilot, Anderson said.

Millions of Americans use voice assistants for comfort and convenience at home, said St. Joseph's Hospital-North president Tom Garthwaite. Bringing this technology to the hospital room will help many people feel more comfortable, which ultimately supports their recovery.

Currently, Aiva also enables patients to control the hospital room television via Alexa. With a simple voice request, patients can request a particular television channel and control the volume.

Anderson said BayCare plans for the Aiva technology to eventually control an entire room.

Our goal is to make an entire smart hospital room, Anderson said. Through voice commands you can ask for anything you need, you can get any entertainment you want, control the television, room lighting and temperature. Controlling window blinds is also potentially an option for the future. Technologies that are now standard in some homes will be available in the hospital room.

The Aiva technology using Alexa in hospital rooms also allows users to play music and ask for news, information, weather, trivia and sports updates.

If a patient prefers not to use Alexa, they can mute the device.

Aiva not only instantly bridged communication between patients and the care team , it also provided more ways for them to interact, said Anna Giles, a Winter Haven Hospital registered nurse who used the technology during the pilot.

The ability to play games and provide a vast spectrum of music choices provided comfort to patients in unique ways, Giles said. We're excited to see how this technology grows to benefit patients' well-being in the future.

We're excited to partner with BayCare, said Sumeet Bhatia, founder and chief executive officer of Aiva. We've always felt that the best health care technology does its work in the background, giving clinicians more freedom and patients more control.

Anderson said BayCare will have the largest deployment of Aiva technology using Alexa for a U.S. health system.

This is bringing consumer-friendly technology into the medical space to provide the same value we get every day from our voice-assistants like Alexa, he said.

BayCare Harnesses Alexa Technology for Better Patient Experience

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