Off-Site ICU monitoring

[Frozennoodle]

http://www.wwltv.com/news/New-progr...-patients-at-several-hospitals-124887469.html

I thought this was interesting if not entirely EMS related. The Oschner Hospital system is building a sort of dispatch center with telemetry and video of 150 ICU patients across it's 7 hospitals in the region. The "dispatch center" will consist of ICU doctors and nurses monitoring the patients from a remote site at the main campus and will alert and augment existing staff at the facility to any changes in patient condition. Patient charts and diagnostic testing will all be electronically available to the monitoring site.

Thoughts?

 

[jjesusfreak01]

Sounds like the worlds most boring job. Staff on telemetry halls, IMO, seem to let the computers monitor the patients while the work on charting and actually doing the hands on care. Sure, this might improve patient care, but it seems it won't be worth the cost.

 

[silver]

Sounds like someone needs less ICU beds...

 

[medicdan]

I agree... it sounds problematic from the start. The reason ICUs are staffed the way they are is to allow for constant low-impact monitoring of patients (let the computers read ECGs), with frequent eyeball checks (RN laying eyes on the patient, speaking to them, and letting their assessment skills determine acuity. Simply having remote monitoring of ECG or even eyes on patients has limited capacity to assess "gut reactions" or actually treat... perhaps it works for specialist consultation...

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[Harvey]

We use a similar system as dispatch for security. it is very problematic and inefficient. it will not benefit the patients and will stress out the staff dropping morale. IMHO

 

[usalsfyre]

Sounds like a way to increase staff to patient ratios. :thumbsdown:

 

[Frozennoodle]

Sounds like a way to increase staff to patient ratios. :thumbsdown:

The Oschner System was once one of the premier care providers in the region. At some point they went full retard and patient care has steadily declining since. Their ED is pretty mediocre and the floor staff is worse. They are starting to buy up ambulances as well which is scary for the general public if they decide to launch a service. Right now they just do IFT between their different hospitals and clinics.

They do have fancy ER wait time billboards up across the city informing you how how long you'll have to sit around until someone accidentally ruptures your aorta in a routine surgery.