Smart Lighting Platform: Proactive Care for Heart Patients in Makkah
In a significant step aimed at enhancing patient safety and improving healthcare efficiency, King Abdullah Medical City, a member of the Makkah Health Cluster, announced the launch of the “Enara” smart platform. This innovative platform is designed to proactively monitor heart attack patients after they undergo cardiac catheterization procedures and are discharged from the hospital, as part of the digital transformation underway in the Kingdom’s healthcare sector in line with the goals of Vision 2030.
General context and importance of post-hospital care
Cardiovascular diseases are among the leading causes of death worldwide and in Saudi Arabia. The period following a patient's discharge from the hospital after cardiac procedures, such as catheterization, is a critical phase requiring close monitoring to prevent complications or recurrent heart attacks. This underscores the importance of technological solutions that enable continuous monitoring of patients in their home environment, contributing to the early detection of any serious warning signs and ensuring timely medical intervention.
How the “Enara” smart platform works
The medical city explained that the “Enara” platform functions as an intelligent voice monitoring system that communicates with patients in their homes through an advanced interactive mechanism. The system relies on sending structured clinical questionnaires to the patient, including assessments of vital signs and key symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, and fever, in addition to monitoring any potential complications at the catheterization site. The system meticulously analyzes the patient's responses to differentiate between expected post-procedure symptoms and warning signs that require immediate intervention.
If any danger indicator is detected, the system immediately directs the patient to the nearest emergency department, and at the same time, it sends a direct notification to the medical team in charge to follow up on the case and ensure a rapid response, thus reducing the critical time between the appearance of symptoms and receiving the necessary medical care.
Expected impact and pilot phase
This project aims to achieve several strategic objectives, most notably improving patients' quality of life, reducing readmission rates, and alleviating the burden on emergency departments by minimizing unnecessary visits. The city indicated that the pilot phase of the project targets between 20 and 30 patients, during which key performance indicators will be measured, including the accuracy of clinical triage, patient satisfaction levels, and the platform's contribution to improving the efficiency of healthcare services.
This project highlights the pivotal role of the nursing team, which reviews high-risk alerts and transforms them from mere digital warnings into rapid and effective clinical interventions. The city emphasized that this system does not replace traditional care, but rather serves as a supportive tool, enhancing it through a proactive, technology-enhanced monitoring system that significantly improves the quality of cardiac care and patient outcomes.
