Prevent Patient Emergencies & Enhancing Workflow with Smart Technology
In a recent article published by STAT, it was shared that hospital command centers, also known as central monitoring units, have been thriving nationally. These centers are meant to handle data-monitoring jobs such as calibrating staffing levels, maximizing bed capacity, and detecting the onset of hospital acquired infections (HAIs) – most notably sepsis. Central Monitoring Units (CMU) are full of trained technicians checking on incoming data from hospitals and alerting medical personnel of routine tasks such as a quick reminder to check on a patient, but also acknowledging crises such as a sharp drop in patient levels that require immediate attention. It was reported in an Ohio CMU that workers logged approximately 77,000 calls to nursing units in April alone.
The Central Monitoring Unit leader at John Hopkins hospital stated that they are beginning to explore the use of machine learning (AI) to predict the event of a patient emergency even sooner. Examples include algorithms to support monitoring changes in heart rate, blood pressure and other patient biomarkers to get ahead of potentially lethal events. Currently, the center is largely focused on managing hospital capacity to calibrate staffing levels and maintain efficient transfers, rather than having sick patients caught in the emergency department for extended periods of time.
The location data produced by CenTrak’s Real Time Location System (RTLS) technology is a key component that can help increase staff efficiencies and reduce wait times. Patients are regularly moving to different departments throughout their recovery process, and updating that movement, as well as analyzing the historical data trending overtime, is vital for efficient patient flow. The technology of CMU and CenTrak can go hand-in-hand with preventing HAIs such as sepsis.
By recording historical data and automatically providing real-time reminders to staff to follow hand hygiene protocols, CenTrak’s electronic hand hygiene monitoring solution helped Denver Health battle infection and raise their adherence rates by over 75%. Just as a CMU staff monitors data on patient safety and can nudge staff in the right direction, CenTrak’s locating and sensing services contribute to the overall safety of patients and ensure that they are in good hands by providing caretakers with effective workflow and meaningful data. With the ability to more accurately and efficiently prioritize data coming their way, real-time location and condition data will strengthen the capabilities provided by the CMU.
*Data source: STAT article
