630 - Beyond Dashboards: How Command Centres Enable Real-Time Hospital Operations

In this episode of Talking HealthTech, Peter Birch speaks with Manuel Pérez Vallina, former CIO in the Spanish health system, Femi Ladega, Group Chief Digital Officer at Dedalus, and Dr Vinod Seetharaman, Chief Medical Officer for Dedalus in Australia and New Zealand.

The discussion covers the evolution of hospital command centres, the shift from using dashboards for retrospective data towards enabling proactive, real-time operational decisions, and how these changes impact clinical workflows and patient outcomes across different health systems.

Recorded live, the conversation draws on experience building one of Spain's first hospital command centres alongside lessons from health systems in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

The panel unpacks why familiar pressures such as underused operating theatres, growing waiting lists and bed shortages appear so consistently across borders, and what separates a command centre from a wall of screens.

Along the way, they examine the four principles that determine whether the model delivers real change, the cultural and governance work that sits behind the technology, the role artificial intelligence can play in filtering meaningful signals, and the practical first steps for organisations weighing up where to begin.

Key Takeaways

🚑 Hospital command centres enable real-time, actionable insights beyond traditional dashboards, improving operational efficiency and patient care.

🛠️ Implementing command centre solutions requires aligning technology, organisational culture, and governance to drive sustained change.

📊 Demonstrating value and securing investment means clearly defining the use case, limiting initial project scope, and engaging stakeholders early.

⚡ Effective change management and clinician engagement are crucial for successful adoption and maximising impact.

🌐 Challenges and solutions discussed are common globally, but must be tailored to local healthcare system maturity and needs.

Timestamps

00:00 - Episode introduction & topic overview

03:42 - Manuel Pérez Vallina on Spain’s command centre journey

05:55 - Femi Ladega: Global perspectives and data orchestration

08:29 - Dr Vinod Seetharaman on capacity management challenges

10:26 - Command centres vs. dashboards

19:02 - Clinical benefits and flow management

22:13 - Stakeholder engagement and return on investment

32:07 - Real-world impacts and cascading benefits

39:48 - Implementation challenges and change management

48:59 - Integrating AI, primary care, and data governance

53:45 - Final advice for hospital leaders

Check out the episode and full show notes on the Talking HealthTech website.

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