Renowned healthcare facility launches advanced wireless monitoring technology in the Emergency Department – reducing wait times and improving patient prioritization.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC), a renowned healthcare facility in Nashville, Tennessee, is piloting the use of the Masimo Radius VSM patient-worn vital signs monitor with Masimo Patient SafetyNet supplemental remote monitoring in the Emergency Department (ED) and nontraditional care spaces.
Launched as part of a successful pilot program aimed at tackling the ongoing crisis of emergency room congestion, Radius VSM has been used on hallway beds, in the emergency medical service offload area and on patients in the waiting room who are typically only monitored periodically – thus providing continuous, wireless monitoring for those who may otherwise be left vulnerable to unexpected deterioration.
Radius VSM combines the reliability and accuracy of a bedside monitor with the comfort and freedom of a wearable device.
With its implementation alongside Patient SafetyNet, clinicians at VUMC are able to remotely monitor vital signs in real time from centralized view stations, simplifying patient data management, enabling quicker intervention during possible deterioration and enhancing patient safety – even while a patient is up and moving. The modular, scalable monitoring platform offers a range of physiological measurements, including Masimo SET®pulse oximetry, measure-on-inflation noninvasive blood pressure, continuous temperature, respiration rate, and 3-leadwire electrocardiography (ECG).
By monitoring ED patients with Radius VSM, VUMC is transforming spaces that were traditionally devoid of continuous monitoring into areas of proactive patient care – a level of visibility that may help clinicians reduce the use of telemetry, potentially saving time and resources and improving patient throughput and prioritization to other parts of the hospital, such as the general ward or medical and surgical wards.
Additionally, Radius VSM’s innovative approach not only enhances the patient and clinician experience but exemplifies how cutting-edge technology can be seamlessly integrated into high-pressure settings like the ED to help streamline continuity of care.
The initial success of VUMC’s pilot program is paving the way for an expanded rollout within the ED designed to elevate care for vulnerable patients and the promising results may lead to adoption in other areas of the hospital, such as medical and surgical wards.
Neal Patel, MD, MPH, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Chief Informatics Officer for HealthIT, VUMC, said: “Wireless physiologic monitoring in the ED enhances surveillance and vigilance of each patient’s status even when they are in the waiting room.”
Bilal Muhsin, Chief Operating Officer, Masimo, said, “With Radius VSM, clinicians have the power of cutting-edge technology in a modular, scalable design that’s both easy to use and comfortable for the patient. The applications are virtually limitless, and I cannot wait to see how the use of this technology is expanded to enhance patient safety not only in the emergency department but across the continuum of care.”