How Continuous Monitoring Can Lead To Drastic Improvements In Healthcare
When it comes to healthcare, we all want the best possible results, every single time. People’s lives literally depend on it, every hour of every day.
Always Watching
One factor that frequently contributes to the improvement or decline of a patient, is how quickly they can be treated in the event of a change in their condition. The problem is that there’s a limited number of trained medical staff, and they can’t spend all day and night staring at each and every patient.
Luckily we live in an age of ever-advancing technology, and there are medical devices that can monitor patients every moment, even when the doctors or nurses can’t. These devices can monitor patients in a number of ways, and they never look away.
What Can They Monitor
One such device, the ViSi Mobile System, can monitor a patient’s heart rate, SpO2, pulse rate, respiration, skin temperature, ECG, and posture. It also watches for arrhythmias, acts as a fall detection alarm, and offers continuous non-invasive blood pressure read-outs.
The entire system is non-invasive and mobile, so the patient can take it with them while being transported or when moving around on their own. It’s even comfortable enough to wear continuously in bed.
Does It Work? Where’s The Evidence?
This exact system went through rigorous testing at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. It’s the subject of a Quality Improvement Project undertaken since 2016 and published in the AJN, American Journal Of Nursing: April 2021 — Volume 121 — Issue 4 — p 40–46.
There are also a number of other papers and articles including published clinical research summaries from institutions such as John Hopkins University and the Mayo Clinic.
How Does This Information Help?
In the Quality Improvement Project at the Mayo Clinic, a number of intriguing benefits emerged. As a result of being able to catch changes in a patient’s symptoms as they were happening, it was found they required being transferred to ICUs less often, and their length of stay (LOS) dropped from 2.82 days to 2.19 days on average.
It was found that often the monitors would detect a change in patient’s symptoms before the patients themselves noticed. This allowed for immediate treatment of many issues that could otherwise have become more serious. As a result, rapid response team activations decreased by as much as 53%.
What About The Human Factor
Numbers are one thing, but sometimes they don’t reflect the true situation. In this situation, the staff was polled about the devices, and 74% of the nurses surveyed reported that the information provided by the device enhanced their decision-making.
A survey was also given to the patients who wore the device, with similar results. Overall they reported the device as comfortable to wear, reassuringly safe, and with secure wires that never disconnected or became a hazard. Anecdotally, patients were recorded as saying they appreciated the mobility offered by the devices, as they never needed to be unplugged for transport or to move around.
If you’re interested in being able to monitor patients continuously in a safe, mobile manner, take a look at the solutions offered by Sotera Wireless. They may not be the only contender in the field, but they come well tested and recommended by real medical professionals in real clinical conditions.
When every second matters, having the best equipment can make the difference between life and death.
