Wolf&Grayson EditorialHealthcare facilities have always struggled with efficiency, from room turnovers to patient admissions. But what if technology could relieve those bottlenecks and give healthcare workers more time to do what they actually trained for? That question is driving innovation at companies like Andor Health, where real-time monitoring and AI integration are reshaping hospital operations.
At the ThinkAndor AI conference in Orlando, Marlin Hutchens of Andor Health shared how artificial intelligence is beginning to break down some of healthcare’s longest-standing barriers.
Improving Speed in Room Turnovers
Hospital room management sounds mundane until you see how much time is lost in the gaps. A room gets cleaned, but no one knows it is ready. Admission teams call around trying to figure out what is available. Patients sit in waiting rooms longer than needed.
Hutchens explains how Andor changes this entire process. “The back end is that it’s being monitored so that they know in real time what’s actually happening in the room,” he says. Instead of phone calls or in-person checks, staff receive instant notifications the moment a room is ready. “It allows for a quicker admission and lets them know that it’s ready to go,” Hutchens adds.
Those saved minutes, multiplied across dozens of rooms and hundreds of patients, create meaningful efficiency gains. It is not about futuristic technology. It is about applying existing tools in smarter, more connected ways.
Shifting Focus Back to Patient Care
The pandemic did more than stretch healthcare systems. It exposed a deeper problem. Nurses and doctors were overwhelmed by tasks that had little to do with actual care.
Hutchens sees AI as a way to help restore that purpose. “So many people left the industry because they were doing things that they didn’t love. And now with AI, ambient listening, all these different things, people get to do more of what they love.”
Think about the time spent documenting, updating systems, and coordinating across departments. “Really, the repetitive tasks can now be automated with AI and tech on the back end,” he explains. When routine work runs itself, clinicians can return to the work that truly requires a human touch.
Breaking Down Silos with Orchestrated Care
Healthcare has traditionally operated in silos. Departments do not communicate, systems do not connect, and everyone works in their own bubble. Andor is working to change that by creating a more coordinated environment.
“The whole orchestration process of bringing all the care groups together so that there aren’t all these silos that have existed in healthcare forever. Andor really does a great job of getting all those together by using AI,” Hutchens says.
Remote monitoring strengthens that orchestration. Issues are flagged immediately instead of being discovered hours later during rounds. “If you think about the remote monitoring and the fact that you can know right away when there’s a problem, and so the caregivers can respond to it, I think that’s really exciting,” he notes. Faster awareness leads to faster intervention and better outcomes.
Understanding Leadership Concerns About AI
Many healthcare leaders hear the word AI and hesitate. With the negative headlines surrounding the technology, the caution is understandable. “AI is scary for a lot of people because they don’t understand it,” Hutchens acknowledges. But fear is not a strategy, especially as technology continues to advance. The goal is not to avoid AI, but to use it responsibly. “You have to have guardrails up on it. And as long as you still keep the guardrails and keep some human intervention in it, AI can do a lot more for us as an enabler, not as something that’s going to take things away,” he says. Humans remain in control. AI simply supports their work.
Why Data Quality Matters More Than the Tool
Here is where many AI initiatives fall short. Even the most advanced technology cannot overcome poor data quality. “The purity of the data that you get and what sources you use to put into the AI content makes all the difference in the world,” Hutchens says.
Organizations that jump into AI without first cleaning up their data are wasting time and resources. The old programming rule still applies. “Garbage in, garbage out.” It is not glamorous, but data quality often matters more than choosing the newest or flashiest AI tool.
Healthcare’s relationship with AI is still evolving. Companies like Andor Health are focused on making the technology truly useful rather than simply impressive. Hutchens remains optimistic about where things are heading, and based on what he is seeing in real deployments, that optimism may be well placed.
Connect with Marlin Hutchens on LinkedIn to explore how AI is transforming real hospital operations.
