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Clinicians at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center Present New Data Showing Masimo Rainbow SET(R) Oximetry and Patient SafetyNet(TM) Improves Patient Outcomes and Reduces the Cost of Care

Posted on: Tuesday, 20 January 2009, 07:00 CST

Presentation at the Society for Technology in Anesthesia Annual Meeting Quantifies Decreases in Rescue Calls and ICU Transfers with Improved ICU Utilization

IRVINE, Calif., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Masimo (Nasdaq: MASI), the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry and Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse oximetry, today announced that a team of clinicians at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) presented new outcome data from their year-long implementation study showing Masimo Rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry and Patient SafetyNet remote monitoring and clinician notification system helps improve patient outcomes and reduce the cost of care by decreasing rescue calls and ICU transfers, resulting in improved ICU utilization. Study findings were presented at the Society for Technology in Anesthesia (STA) Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas on January 15, 2009.

Clinical data tracked by Dr. George T. Blike, Medical Director of Patient Safety, and his team at DHMC during the 12-month study period showed that, after the implementation of Masimo Rainbow SET and Patient SafetyNet, there was a 70% reduction in rescue calls and a 48% reduction in ICU transfers. In addition, the team found that the reduction in ICU transfers helped to free up an estimated 163 ICU-days annually for its 36-bed post-surgical unit, thereby increasing ICU access for more critically ill patients. The findings and data also indicate that there is a measurable cost advantage associated with Masimo Patient SafetyNet's ability to assist clinicians in the identification of the onset of patient distress earlier -- preventing codes, rescues, and ICU transfers -- contributing to significant decreases in patient care costs on the general care floor.

Financial data presented by the team showed that the cost of care for patients undergoing bilateral or multiple major joint prosthesis operations of the lower extremity who did not deteriorate to the point of rescue was 60% less ($19,987) than the cost of care for patients who did ($49,602). Additionally, the length of stay for non-rescued patients was 68% shorter than that of rescued patients (3.9 days versus 12.3 days). For major joint replacement operations of the lower extremity, the length of stay for patients who did not require a rescue call was 38% shorter (3.6 days versus 5.8 days), which resulted in a 31% decrease in their cost of care ($13,648 versus $19,765).

George T. Blike, M.D., Medical Director of Patient Safety at DHMC, stated; "The data tracked in this 12-month study demonstrates that routine patient monitoring on the general care floor using Masimo Rainbow SET and the Patient SafetyNet system, with its ability to measure oxygen saturation continuously and directly page a nurse when problems are identified, was associated with statistically significant reductions in the need for urgent and emergent interventions. Initial analysis shows we reduced the need for ICU transfers and, we believe, the cost of care through early detection and intervention of physiologic abnormalities. These results are such that we have expanded implementation of the system to two additional post-surgical units."

The Masimo Patient SafetyNet system combines the "gold standard" Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion performance of Masimo Rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry technology with wireless clinician alerts via pager to help provide a new level of safety to patients on general care floors, where nurse-to-patient ratios preclude the level of direct surveillance required and recommended to preempt adverse events. When physiologic parameters deteriorate, Masimo Patient SafetyNet system provides accurate, actionable alarm notification directly to a qualified clinician--enabling immediate and early intervention.

The growing frequency of unrecognized adverse incidents and avoidable patient safety issues resulting in death or serious physical injury is a preventable and costly human tragedy that the Journal of the American Medical Association has reported may account for 2.4 million extra hospital days, over 32,500 deaths, and $9.3 billion in excess charges in the United States annually.(1) These startling statistics have prompted the convergence of leading healthcare accreditation and industry groups toward a common patient safety standard of continuous, noninvasive physiologic monitoring linked to an appropriate clinician alert and notification system for perioperative patients.

The Joint Commission's National Patient Safety Goals call for the "improved recognition and response to changes in a patient's condition" and recommend "a suitable method that enables health care staff members to directly request additional assistance from a specially trained individual(s) when the patient's condition appears to be worsening."(2) The Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) recommendations advise healthcare professionals to "give consideration to the potential safety value of continuous postoperative monitoring of oxygenation and ventilation in at-risk patients without delay," urging that "it is critical that any monitoring system be linked to a reliable process to summon a competent healthcare professional to the patient's bedside in a timely manner."(3) The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) Clinical Practice Guidelines have established that "continuous pulse oximetry monitoring in a step-down unit reduces the likelihood of perioperative complications among patients who are believed to be at increased perioperative risk from OSA."(4)

Masimo Founder and CEO, Joe E. Kiani, stated; "By revolutionizing pulse oximetry with the invention of Signal Extraction Technology (SET), we created a new era where pulse oximeters could measure through motion and low perfusion, resulting in the virtual elimination of false alarms with an increased ability to detect true events. The clinical community and Masimo collectively hoped that our technology could help caring clinicians improve the quality of care for their patients. In the last ten years, we have witnessed our technology being used to help save the eyesight of neonates, detect congenital heart defects in newborns and save countless lives. The evidence gathered by Dr. Blike and his team at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center continues to illustrate the substantial impact of Masimo technology on patient safety benchmarks. These caring clinical professionals have done their hospital and the medical community a great service by implementing a solid protocol with Masimo Rainbow SET and Patient SafetyNet to more effectively and efficiently care for their patients after surgery on the general care floor. Their results provide a compelling case and opportunity for hospitals to improve healthcare outcomes while decreasing costs."

A study published in the Journal of Critical Care Medicine estimates that there are approximately 820,000 unmonitored beds in non-critical care settings in the U.S.

(1) The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Excess Length of Stay, Charges, Mortality Attributable to Medical Injuries During Hospitalization, 2003.

(2) The Joint Commission: "Facts about the 2008 National Patient Safety Goals"; June 1, 2007. http://www.jointcommission.org/PatientSafety/NationalPatientSafetyGoals/08_npsgs.htm

(3) Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (ASPF) Initiatives: "Safety During Patient-Controlled Analgesia"; October 13, 2006. www.apsf.org/initiatives/pca.mspx

(4) American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA): "Practice Guidelines for the Perioperative Management of Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea"; Anesthesiology 2006;104:1081-93.

About Masimo

Masimo (NASDAQ: MASI) develops innovative monitoring technologies that significantly improve patient care--helping solve "unsolvable" problems. In 1995, the company debuted Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse oximetry, known as Masimo SET, which virtually eliminated false alarms and increased pulse oximetry's ability to detect life-threatening events. More than 100 independent and objective studies demonstrate Masimo SET provides the most reliable SpO2 and pulse rate measurements even under the most challenging clinical conditions, including patient motion and low peripheral perfusion. In 2005, Masimo introduced Masimo Rainbow SET Pulse CO-Oximetry, a breakthrough noninvasive blood constituent monitoring platform that can measure many blood constituents that previously required invasive procedures. Masimo Rainbow SET continuously and noninvasively measures total hemoglobin (SpHb(TM)), oxygen content (SpOC(TM)), carboxyhemoglobin (SpCO(R)), methemoglobin (SpMet(R)), and PVI(TM), in addition to oxyhemoglobin (SpO2), pulse rate (PR), and perfusion index (PI), allowing early detection and treatment of potentially life-threatening conditions. Founded in 1989, Masimo has the mission of "Improving Patient Outcomes and Reducing Cost of Care by Taking Noninvasive Monitoring to New Sites and Applications." Additional information about Masimo and its products may be found at www.masimo.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release includes forward-looking statements as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, in connection with the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations about future events affecting us and are subject to risks and uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control and could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in our forward-looking statements as a result of various risk factors, including, but not limited to: risks related to our assumption that the positive results and clinical outcomes presented by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center will be repeated at other hospitals, risks related to our assumption that Masimo Patient SafetyNet will deliver a sufficient level of clinical improvement over alternative remote monitoring systems to allow for rapid adoption of the technology on general care floors, as well as other factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 27, 2008, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on October 29, 2008, which may be obtained for free at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, we do not know whether our expectations will prove correct. All forward-looking statements included in this press release are expressly qualified in their entirety by the foregoing cautionary statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of today's date. We do not undertake any obligation to update, amend or clarify these forward-looking statements or the "Risk Factors" contained in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 27, 2008, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under the applicable securities laws.

Contact: Dana Banks Masimo Corporation 949-297-7348

Masimo, SET, Signal Extraction Technology, Improving Outcomes and Reducing Cost of Care by Taking Noninvasive Monitoring to New Sites and Applications, Rainbow, SpHb, SpOC, SpCO, SpMet, PVI, Radical-7, Rad-87, Rad-57,Rad-9, Rad-8, Rad-5,Pulse CO-Oximetry and Pulse CO-Oximeter are trademarks or registered trademarks of Masimo Corporation. CPT is a registered trademark of the American Medical Association.

SOURCE Masimo

Source: PR Newswire

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