The use of a bedside device that continuously monitors patients’ vital signs leads to shorter stays in hospitals and intensive care units, according to a study published in the American Journal of Medicine, FierceHealthIT reports (Bowman, FierceHealthIT, 3/25).
Background on Study
In the controlled study, Harvard University Medical School researchers compared a 33-bed medical-surgical unit to a separate control unit during an 18-month period.
The first half of the study period occurred before implementation of the bedside monitoring devices, while the second half of the study occurred after one of intervention units began using the monitoring device.
The study involved 7,643 patients (Pedulli, Clinical Innovation & Technology, 3/24).
The device — developed by Massachusetts-based EarlySense — monitors patients’ heart rates, respiratory rates and oxygenation (Goth, Health Data Management, 3/25).
Details of Findings
Researchers found that hospital stays decreased by 9% among patients who were monitored by the device.
The study also found that among patients who used the device:
Hospital stays after an intra-hospital transfer fell by about two days, a 45% reduction; and Rates of code blue events decreased by 86%.
In addition, the system was not found to cause alarm fatigue, likely because EarlySense’s analytics software removed false positives (Clinical Innovation & Technology, 3/24).
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