Hoana Medical to Present at the National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care
patented LifeBed(TM) and LifeGurney(TM) Patient Vigilance Systems will be
showcased at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) premier event in
safety.
Hoana is launching an aggressive Luminary program in conjunction with the
IHI event, to introduce its LifeGurney system, focused on overcrowding in the
emergency room. “We are partnering with six leading emergency room sites
across the
said Dr.
quality improvement, and Hoana offers patient safety solutions that support
nurses and physicians in providing the highest quality health care available.”
Nursing labor shortages, tighter economic resources, overcrowding in
emergency rooms and other “holding areas” culminate in a growing problem and
can lead to patient diversions, stoppage of elective surgery and increased
patient dissatisfaction — all of which negatively impact hospital throughput
and revenue. According to the Joint Commission, “one half of all ‘sentinel
event’ cases of poor outcomes that were attributable to delays in therapy
originated in the emergency department, with overcrowding playing a role in
almost one third of these cases.”
Being hospitalized should provide patients with the highest levels of care
possible. Yet even in the best hospitals, patients experience falls –
sometimes with severe injury — or develop avoidable conditions such as
pressure ulcers, urinary tract infections, or life-threatening conditions.
These conditions contribute to the rising cost of health care and lead to an
estimated 200,000 deaths annually.
All of these conditions have been found to be “nurse sensitive” indicators
– meaning that the more Registered Nurses (RNs) that are employed, the less
likely patients are to suffer from these conditions. RNs are at the front
lines of patient safety in hospitals, providing careful observation,
assessment and interventions for changes in a patient’s condition. This
important function is defined as vigilance, which has been described as the
essence of the nursing profession. Providing vigilance is becoming
increasingly difficult, with the growing worldwide nursing shortage,
compounded by budgetary constraints impinging on all areas of health care.
Decreasing the number of RNs places health care organizations in the
untenable position of choosing cost reduction over patient safety. Yet,
reductions in nurse staffing levels are becoming more commonplace in these
difficult economic times, as administrators struggle to reduce personnel
spending to balance already strained budgets. Patient mortality increases by
7% for each patient beyond 4 for whom a RN is responsible; a study of 6
million discharges demonstrated that multiple complications — including death
– were significantly higher in hospitals with fewer RNs. Results of research
from the third multi-site research project demonstrating the impact of the
LifeBed on nurse workflow and workload will be shared during the conference by
Drs.
Recent technological advances are able to provide solutions to nursing
staff now dealing with higher patient acuity and patient volumes, such that
patients can benefit from safe care in the unfortunate climate of increased
nurse-staffing ratios. Innovative hospitals are using the LifeBed(TM) Patient
Vigilance System to enhance patient safety even in these difficult economic
times. This technology provides a cost-effective methodology to enhance
vigilance, by providing continuous heart and respiratory rate monitoring and
fall prevention.
LifeBed technology provides heart and respiratory rates of patients while
they are in bed — without any leads or wires connected to the patient. When a
patient’s heart or respiratory rate goes out of an acceptable range, nurses
are alerted through the nurse call system that is already in use in their
hospital. Patients at risk for falls are also made safer through the use of a
patient fall system that can be set based on an individual’s anticipated fall
risk. Continuous vigilance monitoring allows RNs to confidently provide direct
care for one patient, knowing that the LifeBed system is constantly tracking
all other patients. This patient safety system has nearly 2 million hours of
patient use, and has been found to identify patients in distress when a RN is
not in the room. In a recently completed multicenter trial, nurses spent more
time in patient care activities after institution of continuous vigilance
monitoring, which reduces morbidity and mortality based on previous research.
About Hoana Medical, Inc.
Launched in 2002, Hoana Medical, Inc. is the world’s leading healthcare
company focused on “Intelligent Medical Vigilance” in acute care hospitals
where approximately 200,000 people die from errors and mistakes. It
manufacturers two Food & Drug Administration (FDA)-cleared offerings: the
LifeBed(TM) Patient Vigilance System, focused on the medical-surgical ward of
the acute care hospital and the LifeGurney(TM) Patient Vigilance System,
focused on the emergency department of the acute care hospital. Hoana’s
Patient Vigilance System, transforms any hospital bed or stretcher into a
LifeBed(TM) System, or LifeGurney(TM) System, by tracking a patient’s vital
signs without any wires or connections to the patient. At the intersection
between information technology and medical devices, the LifeBed(TM) System
acts like another set of eyes for the nurse and alerts if a patient is in
trouble. It delivers “vigilance” in an untethered and invisible manner,
however, if the patient is in trouble, the LifeBed(TM) System alerts, bringing
nurses to the bedside. Experience on more than 18,000 individual hospital
patients around the U.S. has yielded several hundred dramatic stories of
nurses intervening to save a patient’s life. Hoana is headquartered in
About Institute for Healthcare Improvement
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is an independent
not-for-profit organization helping to lead the improvement of health care
throughout the world. Founded in 1991 and based in
IHI works to accelerate improvement by building the will for change,
cultivating promising concepts for improving patient care, and helping health
care systems put those ideas into action.
The aim of IHI is to improve the lives of patients, the health of
communities, and the joy of the health care workforce by focusing on an
ambitious set of goals adapted from the Institute of Medicine’s six
improvement aims for the health care system: Safety, Effectiveness,
Patient-Centeredness, Timeliness, Efficiency, and Equity (“No Needless List”):
-- No needless deaths
-- No needless pain or suffering
-- No helplessness in those served or serving
-- No unwanted waiting
-- No waste
-- No one left out
IHI works with health professionals throughout the world to accelerate the
measurable and continual progress of health care systems toward these bold
objectives, leading to breakthrough improvements that are truly meaningful in
the lives of patients.
We will be a recognized and generous leader, a trustworthy partner, and
the first place to turn for expertise, help, and encouragement for anyone,
anywhere who wants to change health care profoundly for the better.
SOURCE Hoana Medical, Inc.