According to The Wall Street Journal, hospitals are adapting two major approaches; a monitor under a patient’s mattress which alerts nursing staff of changes in breathing and heart rate, and a method which rates a patient’s risk of decomposition based on lab results, vital signs and data gathered from EMRs.
Here are five key notes, according to the report:
1. EarlySense monitors under patients’ mattresses which monitor breathing and heart rate were linked to shorter hospital stays and a lower rate of “code blue” events, according to a study co-authored by David Westfall Bates, MD, chief quality officer and chief of general internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
2. The cost of EarlySense monitors range from $80,000 to $200,000 depending on facility size.
3. The second monitoring method is called The Rothman Index, developed by a family after their mother, following a heart procedure, died after signs of deterioration were not noticed soon enough.
4. The index calculates a score from one to 100 with regular updates, a lower score means the patient needs to be monitored or helped immediately.
5. The Rothman Index is currently used in about 70 healthcare facilities, and costs around $150,000 for a 300-bed facility.
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