Representatives from Luxembourg visit SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital to learn about our remote healthcare model

Representatives from the government of Luxembourg visited SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital during the Spain-Luxembourg Economic Forum to get a first-hand perspective of the digital innovation and transformation projects taking place at the Hospital in the field of pediatric health. This is the case for the Liquid Hospital project, which is based on the fact that patients are more comfortable being treated at home. This project was of particular interest to these visitors because of future projects planned in their country.

The group was headed by Ms Martine Deprez, Minister of Health and Social Security, and Ms Stéphanie Obertin, Minister of Digitalisation and Minister for Higher Education and Research, who were accompanied by their team and by other ministers, such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. There were also other governmental figures and staff from the Luxembourg Embassy in Spain.

Here, they were welcomed by Dr Miquel Pons, Deputy Director of SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital, alongside other members of the management and research teams, such as Dr Joan Comella, Director of Innovation, Research and Learning; Dr Juanjo García, Chief Medical Officer; and Yolima Cossio, Director of Data and Digital Strategy.

The Liquid Hospital project, SJD's answer to decision-making problems

The digital transformation of SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital began in 2009, when the Liquid Hospital project was first launched to help facilitate remote healthcare. After years of data collection and identifying the main needs of patients and their families, the Command Center was launched that delivers a comprehensive, real-time overview of what is happening in the Hospital at any given time.

Its aim is to help staff with decision-making processes, such as more optimally managing beds and resources, avoiding overloads and bottlenecks. A wall of screens tells employees how many patients are currently in theatre, how many are awaiting admission to the ICU in the next few hours, how many patients need to be transferred from the ICU to a private room, or how many patients there are on each ward—among many other things—at any given time.

The model has evolved into a predictive model that allows staff to be better prepared and anticipate events that may occur in plenty of time.

The representatives from Luxembourg were also able to visit strategic facilities such as the Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona and the Advanced Therapies Platform.