Masimo and Appalachian Regional Healthcare System announced that Watauga Medical Center in Boone is the first hospital in North Carolina to install Masimo Patient SafetyNet, a remote monitoring and clinician notification system, and Radius-7, a patient-worn monitor that is designed to allow for patient mobility along with continuous monitoring.
“We are always looking for cutting-edge technologies focused on patient safety,” said Richard Sparks, President & CEO, Appalachian Regional Healthcare System. “We wanted a system that provides continuous monitoring that wasn’t restricted to the patient’s room. The Radius-7 combined with Patient SafetyNet allows us the ability to keep a close eye on our patients 24/7.”
Continuous patient surveillance with Patient SafetyNet has been shown to reduce the need for rescue events and intensive care unit transfers in hospitals and, as a result, can reduce costs related to these events.1,2When changes occur in the measured values, which may indicate deterioration in the patient’s condition, in addition to bedside alerts, the alert also shows in the Telemetry room and nurse’s stations. This allows the telemetry technician to contact the unit where the alarm is happening immediately. Masimo Patient SafetyNet works in conjunction with Masimo beside monitors and the Radius-7 wearable monitor to provide wireless, continuous and non-invasive monitoring of oxygenation, pulse rate and respiration, among other parameters.
Appalachian Regional Healthcare System’s Charles A. Cannon, Jr. Memorial Hospital also recently implemented continuous monitoring. At this location, the monitors are connected to the patient call system. When an alert goes off, it sounds through the call lights and then sends a message to the nurse’s station call monitor.
“Watauga Medical Center in Boone and Cannon Memorial Hospital in Linville understand the importance of patient safety,” said Joe Kiani, Founder and CEO of Masimo. “We are excited to see more and more hospitals implement continuous monitoring of their patients in post-surgical wards, as part of their patient safety protocols.”
References:
1 Taenzer A.H., Pyke J.B., McGrath S.P., Blike G.T. Anesthesiology. 2010 Feb; 112(2):282-7.
2 Taenzer A, Blike G, McGrath S, Pyke J, Herrick M, Renaud C, Morgan J. “Postoperative Monitoring - The Dartmouth Experience.” Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation Newsletter Spring-Summer 2012. Available online.
Source & Image Credit: Masimo
