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Smart hospital patient rooms incorporate various smart devices to allow digital control of the entertainment --- such as TV and soundbar --- and the environment --- including lights, blinds, and thermostat. This technology can benefit patients by providing a more accessible, engaging, and personalized approach to their care. Many patients arrive at a rehabilitation hospital because they suffered a life-changing event such as a spinal cord injury or stroke. It can be challenging for patients to learn to cope with the changed abilities that are the new norm in their lives. This study explores ways smart patient rooms can support rehabilitation education to prepare patients for life outside the hospital's care. We conducted 20 contextual inquiries and four interviews with rehabilitation educators as they performed education sessions with patients and informal caregivers. Using thematic analysis, our findings offer insights into how smart patient rooms could revolutionize patient education by fostering better engagement with educational content, reducing interruptions during sessions, providing more agile education content management, and customizing therapy elements for each patient's unique needs. Lastly, we discuss design opportunities for future smart patient room implementations for a better educational experience in any healthcare context. 

Smart patient rooms are arriving; however, their value has yet to be explored. We interviewed 20 patients in a rehabilitation hospital, which has patient rooms equipped with off-the-shelf smart home technologies, so the entertainment and environment are digitally controllable. This novel implementation supports varying control abilities through touchscreen, voice command, and accessibility controllers. The smart rooms and controls are potentially transformative for patients with reduced motor function, helping them regain lost independence and control of their surroundings. Through semi-structured interviews, we explore how smart home technology deployed in patient rooms: interacts with patients’ needs, presents new challenges, and fits into the hospital context. We identify a range of considerations that inform how hospitals can integrate smart technology into their environment, including technology design considerations and adjustments to how hospital staff supports its use. These results take an important step toward understanding and improving the value of smart patient rooms.