Transforming healthcare facility management with digital technologies: A systematic review and future roadmap

Document Type

Review

Publication Date

4-1-2026

Abstract

Healthcare facilities are mission-critical systems that directly affect the quality and efficiency of healthcare services. Digital technologies (DTs) are emerging as pivotal enablers for transforming healthcare facility management (HFM) towards proactive, data-driven paradigms; however, the rapid growth of related publications has resulted in a fragmented evidence base, lacking a comprehensive and current review of applications, challenges, and future pathways. This paper presents a systematic literature review (SLR) and bibliometric analysis of 74 peer-reviewed articles to synthesize how DTs are applied in HFM. Since 2018, the number of publications has increased markedly. The review examines four major DTs—1) Building Information Modeling (BIM); 2) Internet of Things (IoT); 3) Artificial Intelligence (AI); and 4) Digital Twin—and highlights their roles in strengthening healthcare facility operations in complex and demanding contexts. Despite these advances, the review reveals persistent challenges: interoperability between systems, scalability beyond pilots, cybersecurity and data privacy, and organizational adoption. To address these issues, the paper proposes a structured roadmap with short- and long-term priorities spanning technical and organizational domains, offering concrete actions for engineers, facility managers, and researchers. The findings provide actionable guidance and a focused research agenda to advance HFM digitalization, with implications for operational resilience, cost efficiency, and patient safety.

Publication Title

Advanced Engineering Informatics

ISSN

14740346

DOI

10.1016/j.aei.2026.104404

Volume

71

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