Toward a model for assessing smart hospital readiness within the Industry 4.0 paradigm
Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management
ISSN: 2053-4620
Article publication date: 21 October 2022
Issue publication date: 25 January 2024
Abstract
Purpose
The fourth industrial revolution and digital transformation have caused paradigm changes in the procedures of goods production and services through disruptive technologies, and they have formed new methods for business models. Health and medicine fields have been under the effect of these technology advancements. The concept of smart hospital is formed according to these technological transformations. The aim of this research, other than explanation of smart hospital components, is to present a model for evaluating a hospital readiness for becoming a smart hospital.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is an applied one, and has been carried out in three phases and according to design science research. Based on the previous studies, in the first phase, the components and technologies effecting a smart hospital are recognized. In the second phase, the extracted components are prioritized using type-2 fuzzy analytic hierarchical process based on the opinion of experts; later, the readiness model is designed. In the third phase, the presented model would be tested in a hospital.
Findings
The research results showed that the technologies of internet of things, robotics, artificial intelligence, radio-frequency identification as well as augmented and virtual reality had the most prominence in a smart hospital.
Originality/value
The innovation and originality of the forthcoming research is to explain the concept of smart hospital, to rank its components and to provide a model for evaluating the readiness of smart hospital. Contribution of this research in terms of theory explains the concept of smart hospital and in terms of application presents a model for assessing the readiness of smart hospitals.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Funding: The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Availability of data and material: All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this article.
Citation
Ronaghi, M.H. (2024), "Toward a model for assessing smart hospital readiness within the Industry 4.0 paradigm", Journal of Science and Technology Policy Management, Vol. 15 No. 2, pp. 353-373. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTPM-09-2021-0130
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited