Digital Health Technologies and Standardized Protocols for Patient Safety in Hospital-Based Settings: A Scoping...

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Informatics
• Patient Safety Research
• Digital Health Implementation

Background:

• Patient safety is a critical concern in hospitals, often compromised by errors in medication, communication, and delayed recognition of patient deterioration.
• Digital health technologies offer potential solutions but require integration with standardized protocols and multidisciplinary workflows for maximum impact.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically map existing evidence on the integration of digital health technologies with standardized protocols to improve patient safety in hospital settings.
• To identify key areas where digital health tools are being utilized to address patient safety challenges.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive scoping review following the Arksey and O'Malley framework, refined by Levac et al., and guided by PRISMA-ScR.
• Searched major databases (PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, Web of Science, IEEE Xplore) for English-language studies from 2006 to June 2025.
• Included studies focused on digital health technologies integrated with standardized protocols in hospitals, reporting patient safety outcomes; data synthesized via descriptive and thematic analysis.

Main Results:

• Twenty studies were included, revealing four main themes: early warning systems for patient deterioration, medication safety tools (barcode administration, reconciliation, decision support), communication/workflow tools (handoff protocols, checklists), and monitoring systems for hygiene and fall prevention.
• Reported outcomes included reductions in mortality, length of stay, medication errors, adverse drug events, and improvements in communication accuracy, protocol adherence, hand hygiene, and fall prevention.

Conclusions:

• Digital health technologies show promise for enhancing patient safety when integrated with standardized protocols and multidisciplinary workflows.
• Findings represent an evidence map; further research is needed on implementation quality, alert fatigue, training, workflow integration, sustainability, and transferability.