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Study Shows Patients & Nurses Benefit From Continuous Vigilance Monitoring

Posted on: Tuesday, 31 March 2009, 04:20 CDT

Quicker detection of potential medical problems

HONOLULU, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study published in The Journal of Nursing Administration shows there are significant benefits for patients and nurses when continuous vigilance monitoring is used in medical settings. "The outcomes were definitive," stated Dr. Patrick Sullivan, President and CEO of Hoana Medical, Inc. "Using such monitoring provides an early alert to RNs about potential medical problems, so they can intervene in a more timely way and, as a result, improve patient safety."

The 12 month study was conducted at three U.S. Veterans Health Administration (VHA) hospitals, utilizing the LifeBed Patient Vigilance System(TM). The system is comprised of a mattress coverlet which is embedded with sensors that measure heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR) and provides a bed exit alert for fall prevention. The patient simply lies down and the sensors immediately monitor HR and RR. No electrodes, cuffs or other connections are required, which improves patient comfort. Patient data is continuously relayed to a bedside computer display unit. If the patient's HR or RR fluctuates outside normal limits or if a fall-risk patient leaves the bed the system alerts nursing staff both audibly and visually.

The study found that the timeliness of the early warning system improved early recognition of patient distress, resulting in RNs spending more time with patients. Previous studies have found that the more time a RN spends with patients the better the outcome.

"The reality of the nationwide nursing shortage is that, at most hospitals, RNs do not have the time to constantly monitor all of their patients," said Dr. Heather Herdman, Chief Strategic Officer of Hoana Medical, Inc. "Monitoring generally takes place about every four hours and it's not always done by an RN. By then, if a patient is in distress, it can be a life threatening situation." In fact, respiratory rate change is the number one predictor of a patient being at risk for medical complications that are cardio-respiratory in nature.

In addition to providing early recognition of patient distress, earlier independent research studies showed that fall rates drop between 40 and 90 percent through continuous vigilance monitoring.

"Clearly the results show that technology can benefit both the medical community and the patient," said Sullivan. "The patients get the help they need in a very timely manner and RNs know the technology will help them provide the quality care that's needed."

Study note: The study was conducted at James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital - Tampa, FL; VA Palo Alto Health Care System - Palo Alto, CA; and Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center - Indianapolis, IN.

LifeBed is a product of Hoana Medical, Inc. Hoana Medical, founded in 2001, is a privately held medical device company based in Honolulu, HI. To learn more about Hoana, go to: www.hoana.com

SOURCE Hoana Medical, Inc.

Source: PR Newswire

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