The other evening I had the opportunity to tour around a new state of the art hospital facility, so state of the art it is calling itself the hospital of the future.

As the press release states: The new facility intends to positively transform the traditional health care experience that is normally associated with staying or working in a hospital. The campus will epitomize Cisco and PPH’s shared vision of a ‘Connected Hospital’ where technology and the physical environment seamlessly integrate to enhance patient care through the sharing of timely, accurate information among the right people at the right time, between hospitals and the extended ecosystem of care.

Following the tour – more comments here soon – I popped into the Blarney Stone pub and shared a Guinness or two with a friend whilst listening to a live singer entertain the regulars.

‘Work’ wasn’t over though – it was then off to a small group meeting to discuss how web technology can assist those working in the built environment sectors. This was part of a regular Tuesday evening get together to learn and share on themes that run from using Skype to dealing with Radon.

Possibly a typical afternoon / evening for those involved in improvement forums and tours, except this one was completely virtual within second life, demonstrating the benefits of such platforms for business, communication and learning.

On February 25 ‘cut the ribbon’ on a new hospital – Palomar West – a simulation of a real world hospital campus due to open in 2011 – gives visitors the opportunity to tour the hospital years before its doors actually open. How that for testing future patient comments and user ‘usability’. The ‘experience’ of users can be monitored prior to the building commencing, and real life designs amended accordingly. This is more than the video fly through we see to promote new buildings. I could sit and chat to others, within the reception and discuss our thoughts on the place.

The live singer was in a pub in London, streamed into a virtual pub, the Blarney Stone, on the Dublin sim. (The beer was real but from my own fridge)

The meeting was part of the Construction Group, with members across the globe, learning and sharing in a setting very similar to the thousands of meetings that occur across the country every night. Except this didn’t involve any traveling, didn’t interfere with family life, and with delegates from around the world, huge potential in global learning.

I am planning a regular meeting get to together to discuss the topics raised through isite – so if you have a second life – join the isite group in world, IM me from within second life or just leave a comment below . For more on second life, how to get into the groups, visit places such as the Palomar, contact me here, or leave comments below.

Hospital of the Future press release … Continue reading →