Challenges Of Establishing a Smart Hospital in Taft City in 2025; A Qualitative Study

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Health and Medical Services Management, Marvdasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, Marvdasht, Iran

2 Associate professor,Deprtment of health care management,ahvaz university of medical sciences,ahvaz, iran

3 Ph.D in health service management, Department of health services management, School of health management and information science, shiraz University of Medical Sciences,shiraz, Iran, 0000000251102133

Abstract

Introduction: The design of a smart hospital, despite its numerous advantages, faces challenges
that require the integration of many organizations to overcome. Although advancements
have been made in establishing smart hospitals in Iran, the seamless integration of physical
hospital devices and information systems has not yet been fully realized. This integration
faces challenges, and identifying these challenges can be effective in accelerating the launch of
smart hospitals. This study aimed to identifying the challenges of establishing a smart hospital
in Taft City in 2025.
Methods: The present qualitative study was conducted in 2025 in Taft City, Yazd Province,
through semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample (10 individuals), including
the hospital CEO and manager, quality improvement officer, quality improvement expert,
health economics expert, financial manager, human resources manager, health information
technology expert, medical equipment expert, nursing manager, and technical manager. Data
collection involved semi-structured interviews, field note-taking, and recording of memos
based on the principle of data saturation. Data analysis was performed through qualitative
content analysis.
Results: This study interviewed 10 participants (5 females and 5 males) aged 30-58. The mean
age of the participants was 41.7 years and the mean work experience of them was 16.4 years.
During the data analysis process, 3 main themes (Policy-Making Challenges, technological
and infrastructural challenges, financial and economic challenges), 6 categories (Leadership
and Management Challenges, Legal Challenges, Technological Challenges, Infrastructural
Challenges, Initial Costs, Maintenance and Upgrade Costs) and 24 subcategories were
identified.
Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated that the most important challenges
included Policy-Making Challenges, Technological and Infrastructural Challenges, financial
and economic challenges. By resolving these obstacles and empowerment technology, the
success of the smart hospital launch project in Taft City, Yazd Province, can be facilitated.

Highlights

Leila Azadi (Google Scholar)

Nasrin Moradi (Google Scholar)

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

1.  Rajaei O, Khayami SR, Rezaei MS. Smart hospital definition: Academic and industrial perspective. Int J Med Inform. 2024;182:105304. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2023.105304.
2.  Sendlhofer G. Smart Hospital. Wiener klinisches Magazin. 2025;28(3):34-9. doi: 10.1007/s00740-025-00556-4.
3.  Woll A, Torresen J. What is a smart hospital? A review of the literature. Human-Automation Interaction: Manufacturing, Services and User Experience. 2022;145-65. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-10780-1_8.
4.  Yu L, Lu Y, Zhu X. Smart hospital based on internet of things. Journal of networks. 2012;7(10):1654. doi: 10.4304/jnw.7.10.1654-1661.
5.  Holzinger A, Rocker C, Ziefle M. From smart health to smart hospitals. Smart health: open problems and future challenges: Springer; 2015. p. 1-20. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-16226-3_1.
6.  Holzinger A, Rocker C, Ziefle M. From Smart Health to Smart Hospitals. In: Holzinger A, Rocker C, Ziefle M, editors. Smart Health: Open Problems and Future Challenges. Cham: Springer International Publishing; 2015. p. 1-20. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-16226-3_1.
7.  Zhang H, Li J, Wen B, Xun Y, Liu J. Connecting intelligent things in smart hospitals using NB-IoT. IEEE Internet of Things Journal. 2018;5(3):1550-60. doi: 10.1109/JIOT.2018.2792423.
8.  Korea Digital Hospital Export Agency. Overview of digital hospitals. Seoul, Korea: Korea Digital Hospital Export Agency; c2012. [cited 03 February 2022]. Available from: http://kor.kohea.co.kr/hospital_over-view/
9.  Cho NW. Sung Sang-cheol, President of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, which is about to open next June. Seoul, Korea: Financial News; 2002. [cited 03 February 2022]. Available from: http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LPOD&mid=etc&oid=014&aid=0000026478
10. Hosseini SH, Poormoosa PSY, Moghimbeigi A, Pouragha B. Design and Standardization of Smart Hospital Evaluation Checklist. 2023;41(731):682-95.
11. Moshiri F. Presentation of a smart hospital architecture model based on the Internet of Things: Imam Khomeini Hospital. Tehran: The Fourth Conference on Information Technology and Health Promotion with a Focus on Smart Health; 2020. Persian.
12. Azad MA, Arshad J, Mahmoud S, Salah K, Imran M. A privacy-preserving framework for smart context-aware healthcare applications. Transactions on Emerging Telecommunications Technologies. 2022;33(8):e3634. doi: 10.1002/ett.3634.
13. Ali H, Cole A, Panos G. Transforming Patient Hospital Experience Through Smart Technologies. Design, User Experience, and Usability Case Studies in Public and Personal Interactive Systems. 9th International Conference, DUXU 2020, Held as Part of the 22nd HCI International Conference, HCII 2020, Copenhagen, Denmark, July 19-24, 2020, Proceedings, Part III 22. 2020. p. 203-215. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-49757-6_14.
14. Bhuvana R, Hemalatha RJ, Baskar S, Kosalaram K. Introduction to Smart Hospital. Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Blockchain Technology and Digital Twin for Smart Hospitals. 2024;15:1-8. doi: 10.1002/9781394287420.ch1.
15. Oueida S, Aloqaily M, Ionescu S. A smart healthcare reward model for resource allocation in smart city. Multimedia tools and applications. 2019;78(17):24573-94. doi: 10.1007/s11042-018-6647-4.
16. Moro Visconti R, Morea D. Healthcare Digitalization and Pay-For-Performance Incentives in Smart Hospital Project Financing. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(7):2318. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17072318.
17. Levina A, Ilin I, Gugutishvili D, Kochetkova K, Tick A. Towards a smart hospital: Smart infrastructure integration. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity. 2024;10(3):100339.
18. Kumar A, Masud M, Alsharif MH, Gaur N, Nanthaamornphong A. Integrating 6G technology in smart hospitals: challenges and opportunities for enhanced healthcare services. Front Med (Lausanne). 2025;12:1534551. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1534551.
19. Gautam A, Amin R, Jacques K. Constraints Due to Regularization of Smart Hospitals: To Study the Impact of 5G Technology on the Financial Sector. 5G-Based Smart Hospitals and Healthcare Systems: CRC Press; 2023. p. 63-75. doi: 10.1201/9781003403678-5.
20. Cheng L, Zhao N, Wu K, Chen Z. The multi-trip autonomous mobile robot scheduling problem with time windows in a stochastic environment at smart hospitals. Applied Sciences. 2023;13(17):9879. doi: 10.3390/app13179879.
21. AbdulRaheem M, Awotunde JB, Chakraborty C, Adeniyi EA, Oladipo ID, Bhoi AK. Security and privacy concerns in smart healthcare system. Implementation of smart healthcare systems using AI, IoT, and blockchain: Elsevier; 2023. p. 243-73. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-323-91916-6.00002-3.
22. Rafik H, Maizate A, Ettaoufik A. Data Security Mechanisms, Approaches, and Challenges for e-Health Smart Systems. International Journal of Online & Biomedical Engineering. 2023;19(2). doi: 10.3991/ijoe.v19i02.37069.
23. Mi D, Li Y, Zhang K, Huang C, Shan W, Zhang J. Exploring intelligent hospital management mode based on artificial intelligence. Front Public Health. 2023;11:1182329. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1182329.
24. Elendu C, Elendu TC, Elendu ID. 5G-enabled smart hospitals: Innovations in patient care and facility management. Medicine (Baltimore). 2024;103(20):e38239. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000038239.
25. Duodu NY, Patel WD, Koyuncu H. Advancements in Telehealth: Enhancing breast cancer detection and health automation through smart integration of iot and cnn deep learning in residential and healthcare settings. J Adv Res Appl Sci Eng Technol. 2025;45(2):214-26. doi: 10.37934/araset.45.2.214226.
26. Hassani H, MacFeely S. Integration of digital twin and blockchain for smart hospitals. Sensor Networks for Smart Hospitals: Elsevier; 2025. p. 603-16. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-443-36370-2.00030-X.
27. Lamba AK, Pal S. Artificial intelligence and data science in metaverse supported healthcare systems (smart health): Opportunities and Challenges. Exploring the Metaverse. 2025;69-81. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-443-24132-1.00005-3.
28. Graneheim UH, Lundman B. Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: concepts, procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness. Nurse Educ Today. 2004;24(2):105-12. doi: 10.1016/j.nedt.2003.10.001.
29. Guba EG, Lincoln YS. Competing paradigms in qualitative research. Handbook of qualitative research. 1994;2(163-194):105-117.
30. Golpira R, Tara SM, Raeesi A. Prerequisites of Implementing Smart Hospitals in Iran. Iranian Journal of Culture and Health Promotion. 2023;7(2):185-95.
31. Layeghi Qalesoukhte T, Hesam S, Mahfoozpour S, Vahdat S. Identifying Effective Factors in Making Smart Hospitals: A Qualitative Study (Content Analysis). Journal of Health Promotion Management. 2023;12(2):61-77.
32. Kruse CS, Frederick B, Jacobson T, Monticone DK. Cybersecurity in healthcare: A systematic review of modern threats and trends. Technol Health Care. 2017;25(1):1-10. doi: 10.3233/THC-161263.
33. Reddy J, Elsayed N, Elsayed Z, Ozer M. Data breaches in healthcare security systems. ArXiv. 2021.
34. Kumar A, Masud M, Alsharif MH, Gaur N, Nanthaamornphong A. Integrating 6G technology in smart hospitals: challenges and opportunities for enhanced healthcare services. Front Med (Lausanne). 2025;12:1534551. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2025.1534551.
35. Levina A, Ilin I, Gugutishvili D, Kochetkova K, Tick A. Towards a smart hospital: Smart infrastructure integration. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity. 2024;10(3):100339. doi: 10.1016/j.joitmc.2024.100339.
36. Jalali MS, Kaiser JP. Cybersecurity in Hospitals: A Systematic, Organizational Perspective. J Med Internet Res. 2018;20(5):e10059. doi: 10.2196/10059.
37. Al-Kahrani N, Alrawiai S, Al-Zahrani BM, Abumadini RA, Aljaffary A, Hariri B, et al. Digital health transformation in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional analysis using Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society digital health indicators. Digital Health. 2022;8:20552076221117742.
38. Korea Health Industry Development Institute. A study on smart hospital developing plans for medical service innovation in the digital era. Osong, Korea: Korea Health Industry Development Institute; 2020.
39. Ang S, Chua M, Lim J, et al. Financial sustainability of smart hospital initiatives in Singapore: Challenges and strategies. Health Policy Technol. 2021;10(3):100572.
Health Management & Information Science
Volume 12, Issue 4
October 2025
Pages 228-237

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics