Revolution on the Sana ward: “Maybe a nurse will only work from home”

Revolution at Sana Station
“Maybe a nurse will only work from home”

May 22, 2024, 4:20 p.m

For Stefanie Kemp it is clear: the future of the hospital is digital, but not paperless. “The paperless office does not exist today and will not exist in the future,” says the head of digitalization at Sana Kliniken in the new episode of “So techt Deutschland”. Nevertheless, a revolution seems possible.

Even as a young pediatric nurse, Stefanie Kemp was fascinated by using innovative technologies to improve the lives of patients and colleagues. “I would rather do it today than back then,” she says of her first job. Today, more than 35 years later, she is driving the digital future as Chief Transformation Officer of Sana Kliniken. The head of digitalization at Germany’s third largest hospital company knows what she is talking about: she has been at home in IT for 35 years and has managed numerous transformation projects in the pharmaceutical industry and health insurance companies. “I maintain that the healthcare system is 25 years behind – in terms of open interfaces, standards, open source.”

For Kemp it is clear: the future of the hospital is digital, but not paperless. “The paperless office does not exist today and will not exist in the future.” Even 60 to 70 percent less paperwork would be a win. The expert sees the greatest leverage in the electronic patient file: “We can import the data directly via a standard interface – but the patient has to agree.”

Soon only home office?

Whether robots in wards, exoskeletons to relieve staff or AI-based diagnosis of X-ray images – for Kemp, many things are no longer a vision, but will soon be reality. “Why can’t I work with a digital signature? Why can’t I bring a prescription to the patient directly in the patient portal in the future?” asks the Rhinelander. And if patients start collecting their vital data at home thanks to sensor technology, the nurse’s work could move away from the bed: “Imagine that in ten years a nurse will only work from home,” Kemp throws out as an option.

That sounds like a revolution, but Kemp’s approach is cautious: “You always work with an open heart,” says the trained pediatric nurse about the upcoming changes in the healthcare system. Digitalization is about finding benefits for patients and employees. Stefanie Kemp tells us in the new episode of “So techt Deutschland” what this can look like in concrete terms, where the famous “German fear” is still very pronounced in the health sector and what we can learn from other countries.

Frauke Holzmeier and Andreas Laukat spoke to Stefanie Kemp. You can watch the complete conversation in the ntv podcast “So techt Germany” listen.