Looking towards a future of less patient stress and smoother communication in medical care
The Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Medical Center is an acute hospital with over 1,000 staff members located in Itabashi-ku, Tokyo. It focuses on treating illnesses common among senior citizens, including cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and dementia. The Center offers a full range of medical care, with the exception of pediatrics and obstetrics. Mr. Yutaka Suzuki (Section Chief, Radiology Department, Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatic Medical Center), has always wanted to reduce patients’ stress to have more accurate test outcomes. Traditional approaches didn’t yield the effects Mr. Suzuki hoped for. Then he discovered Philips’ Ambient Experience. The Philips Healthcare Experience Solutions team showed him a whole new way to help patients with their stress.
Compared to other countries, clinical care in Japan is cold and impersonal. I’m looking for new approaches to improving care by improving the clinical environment"
Yutaka Suzuki, Section Chief, Radiology Department
Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatic Medical Center
Our approach
The Philips Healthcare Experience Solutions team advised to install the IQon Spectral CT with Ambient Experience the next time the Center updated its CT equipment. CT scans take less time than MRI scans, but even that shorter time can be stressful for patients. The experience of being inside a huge, intimidating machine in frigid temperatures optimized for tests, takes a mental and physical toll. Ambient Experience helps alleviate this stress, giving patients and staff a sense of togetherness and allowing for more efficient scans. Ambient Experience’s combination of soft lighting, sound and projection of for example animals or landscapes from around the world, is highly effective at getting patients to relax. The images also facilitate communication by giving patients and staff something to talk about. This allows for more efficient tests and reduces the burden on staff, helping them find the best solutions for their patients’ needs.
Results
The results have exceeded the Center’s expectations Many staff members report that communicating with patients is easier than ever. Some have even found that they are able to build trust with their patients more quickly. “We wanted patients to relax during their examination so we could get acceptable results. At the same time, we wanted to reduce the burden on our staff,” says Dr. Keigo Shimoji, Manager, Radiology Department. “It was then that we were introduced to Ambient Experience, and we recognized that this could help us create the ideal scanning environment we were looking for.”
Nurse Mami Tokuhara “It’s our job to stay by patients’ sides and build trust. That’s a challenge that medical technology alone cannot overcome. The Ambient Experience themes help us immediately connect with them.”
Meet our team
James Chan Senior Business Development Manager Asia
James and his team help hospitals, clinics and healthcare systems develop people-centric care solutions. His expertise spans the fields of patient & staff engagement, business improvement and innovation. James has previous experience in different commercials, marketing and sales positions in Healthcare industry. He holds a Masters in Strategic Marketing and a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy
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