Hospitals of the future no longer rely only on the scalpel and intuition, but on robotics, data, and connected systems. A discussion among experts from Slovakia and the Czech Republic showed what really works today, what slows practice down, and where the patient gains the most.
From surgical robots to neurorehabilitation
Robotics first took hold in medicine in surgery, where da Vinci-type systems have been standardized and reimbursed for many years. Today the focus is also shifting to robotic rehabilitation, which combines machines with conventional therapy, virtual reality, and biofeedback. The result is faster, more effective treatment and objective data on a patient’s progress that often cannot be detected by the human eye.
However, this is not an autopilot for an immobile person. The patient must actively cooperate with the robot, heed instructions, and respond to tasks in a semi-virtual reality, for example via a robotic arm. In gait re-education, anti-gravity and safety systems help while simultaneously collecting precise measurements. Such therapy makes the most sense in the first months after a stroke, when the brain undergoes neuroplastic changes and needs thousands of repetitions that conventional therapy can hardly achieve.
Money, space, and people: the biggest obstacles
The strongest brake is funding. Robotic rehabilitation does have its first billable procedures and limited reimbursement is appearing in outpatient clinics, but hospitals are waiting for full inclusion in inpatient reimbursement. Until then, therapy is often paid according to the price list, and an hour comes to approximately 50 to 100 euros, which limits availability and providers’ incentive to invest. The first contracts exist only at some facilities and to a limited extent.
Operating costs and servicing are also significant, and there are not many suppliers. Many older buildings do not meet the spatial and technical requirements of mobile robots, whereas new hospitals can account for this already during construction. Staff training and transfer of know-how are necessary; otherwise even good solutions fail due to weak implementation. In the Czech Republic, in most regional capitals, almost every rehabilitation department has robotic devices, whereas in Slovakia patients still have to seek them out deliberately.
Call systems and AI: the hospital's digital infrastructure
Intelligent nurse call systems are also part of a modern hospital. Solutions deployed without construction work run on their own radio network with availability at the level of 99,99 %, the patient wears a wristband and staff carry a mobile unit. Calls can be escalated, teams can be assembled, and at the hospital in Michalovce the system even intelligently distributes requests to balance staff workload. Every intervention can be recorded and analyzed retrospectively, which increases both safety and efficiency.
Artificial intelligence already helps with the analysis of chest and brain images and, in Brno u svätej Anny, also with identifying suitable patients for clinical trials from anonymized data. Internal committees decide on introducing innovations, assessing both medical benefit and economic sustainability; approximately half of the projects can pay for themselves. Skupina Agel also has an innovation institute that evaluates tools from ECG interpretation to epidemiology and safeguards the balance between medicine and business. Data protection and cybersecurity are in the hands of the hospitals: vendors do not work with personal data, and systems are designed to meet strict technical and legislative requirements.
