Cisco, Philips, and Emergin collaboration delivers wireless patient
monitoring
23 February 2006
Clinicians can receive mobile medical alarms, such as electrocardiogram
alerts on wireless Internet Protocol (IP) phones, as a result of
developments in Cisco's Clinical Connection Suite.
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) has developed the new wireless system in
conjunction with medical device provider Philips Medical Systems and leading
plug-and-play integration company Emergin. The Cisco Clinical Connection
Suite Patient Monitoring solution allows clinicians to receive mobile alarm
information, such as electrocardiogram data that records heart beat
activity, on the Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920. The development was announced
at the annual Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS)
conference.
The patient monitoring system sends electrocardiogram data via waveform
snippets and text messages to the Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920 from the
Philips IntelliVue patient monitoring system via the Emergin Patient
Monitoring Gateway. Acting as a secondary alarm notification, the solution
allows nurses and clinicians to maintain their mobility while still
receiving critical patient data. While the primary alarming mechanism
remains at the patient's bedside monitor or an associated central station,
the additional waveform information enables assessments to begin even as the
staff goes to the patient's bedside or unit monitors for further analysis.
At Central DuPage Hospital, a 361-bed facility located in Winfield, Ill.,
the wireless patient monitoring system has helped the facility increase the
productivity of its nurses and improve the quality of patient care. The
hospital uses the solution in its 38-bed cardiac telemetry unit to deliver
critical alarm and heart rhythm information directly to nurses on their
Cisco Wireless IP Phones. Previously nurses would receive verbal alarms from
remote telemetry technicians in the event of a rhythm change via pagers.
They are now able to receive the actual waveform associated with the event
that triggered the alarm on their wireless phones.
According to Central DuPage's Medical Director for Quality and Safety,
Dr. David Cooke, "Having the ability to view and interpret the heart rhythm
messages directly has inserted the nursing staff back into the
heart-rhythm-assessment loop. This has improved response times by allowing
nurses to begin applying treatment options almost immediately, which is
especially critical for cardiac patients in emergency medical situations."
The Cisco Clinical Connection Suite consists of four integrated clinical
solutions — Nurse Call, Patient Monitoring, Location-Based Services and
Collaborative Care — that direct, locate and prioritize information for
clinicians and their patients, aiding faster, smarter healthcare. As a
result, hospitals realize improved staff productivity, reduced capital and
operating costs with extended systems, and a significantly enhanced quality
of care and services.
Kent Gray, global lead for Cisco healthcare solutions said, "Cisco
Clinical Connection Suite provides intelligent networking to ensure that
information goes only to the right person, at the right place and the right
time — whether the information emanates from an EKG monitor, an IP phone or
an RFID-labeled wheelchair."
"As the leader in patient monitoring, Philips is pleased to team with
Cisco to help nurses maintain optimum levels of mobility and productivity by
obtaining patient data," said Carla Joliat, Director of product marketing
for Philips Medical Systems. "When combined with Cisco's advanced IP
communications capabilities, the solution helps make clinicians' lives
easier by providing a viable mobile option for receiving alarm information."
To top
|