Design of an Enterprise-wide Physiological and Clinical Data Solution

Abstract

The deployment of new wireless and networked technology and advanced clinical applications has significantly increased the quality and the quantity of patient diagnostic and monitoring information throughout the patient care environment. Coupled with increasing workloads and reduced staffing, the difficulties in effectively prioritizing and handling this information have resulted in a rise in equipment-related errors, patient dissatisfaction, a potential for patient injury, and an increasing overall concern for patient safety. Concerns about this trend have prompted the Joint Commission to established seven patient safety initiatives geared to the patient environment of care, establishing methodologies and protocols to reduce the probability of errors, and to provide an enhanced level of communications. Planned deployment of advanced medical devices and supporting technologies coupled with our existing wired/wireless network infrastructure, need to consider the potential integrating clinical device, onto a unified network infrastructure providing advanced capabilities to share and effectively manage this key patient clinical information. Implementation of a biomedical device information network represents a significant advance in the management of clinical patient information, and enables device data, specifically critical patient alarms to be shared, coordinated, prioritized and sent directly to specific assigned care providers. The care giver utilizing a common hands-free wireless device can receive a prioritized audible (or a simulated voice) alarm message and utilize this same device for directed staff-to-staff or staff-to-patient communication. The Biomedical Information Network implementation identifies or associates patients with devices and consequently critical alarms, filters low priority or nuisance alarms, and eliminates the need for multiple costly communication devices. This implementation establishes an enhanced environment of care, providing increased patient safety, and a clear proactive response to the national patient safety initiatives.