Digitaler Reifegrad der Krankenhausversorgung - Ausgangssituation und Handlungsoptionen für eine forcierte digitale Transformation in österreichischen Krankenhäusern

Objective Inpatient patient care in Austrian hospitals is determined by a division of labor, interdisciplinary and complex service processes that are provided by a large number of different specialist disciplines and departments. Knowledge-based healthcare services are dominated by a mix of work performance and the use of hardware and software. Due to the increased cross-industry digitization of service processes, the question arises: How should digitization be designed and further developed to improve value creation and resource availability in the hospital from the point of view of those responsible for decision-making and management? Method By means of a semi-structured literature search and an online survey among those responsible for decision-making and management (collegial leadership) in Austrian hospitals (N = 374; n = 49, rr = 13.1 %), the current level of maturity and the different objectives, challenges, and solution approaches to digitization in the hospital sector from the perspective of collegial leadership were collected and analyzed. Results It became clear that the comprehensive digitization in the hospital is determined by many actors, professions, activities, use of resources and knowledge-based services and is confronted with different challenges. According to the decision- makers surveyed, the current degree of maturity of digitization in hospitals is at a medium level. Significant potential for improvement and possible applications are seen in particular regarding the use of big data and AI technologies, asset tracking and the use of mobile health solutions. Conclusions In addition to the further development of knowledge- based and qualified medical-nursing-therapeutic patient care, it is important to increasingly push digitization in hospitals. The aim is to ensure both the security of care (e. g., lowthreshold, timely and local access) and the quality of care (e. g., evidence-based health care) in the face of increasing demand and increased patient expectations as well as the increasingly limited availability of resources.