• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Carondelet Health Network Selects Patient Care Technology Systems' Automatic Tracking Software; Software Will Track Patients and Mobile Medical Equipment in Emergency Department and Operating Rooms

Posted on: Thursday, 14 September 2006, 12:01 CDT

Patient Care Technology Systems (PCTS) announced today that Carondelet Health Network has selected their Amelior(TM) automatic tracking software to improve the efficiency of their St. Mary's Hospital emergency department and St. Joseph's Hospital perioperative department. The software will be used to communicate the care progression of patients and the location of mobile medical equipment in both Tucson, Arizona hospitals.

The automatic tracking software developed by PCTS provides real-time tracking of patients and mobile medical equipment based on location information communicated by infrared, RFID, ultra-wideband or Wi-Fi indoor positioning technologies. Patients and equipment wear a tag that enables the software to record and communicate their location. The Amelior automatic tracking software uses rules-based intelligence to translate interactions between patients, medical staff and equipment into time-stamped stages of a patient's course of treatment. This information is continuously updated on an electronic tracking map and multiple department status views to help care givers manage their workflow and streamline patient care. Communication between care givers is based on the real-time information that is presented in the software which reduces the confusion over the status of patients, rooms, scarce medical equipment and the availability of clinical staff. As a result, phone calls and other manual interventions to manage care progression are reduced resulting in more timely care and a quieter patient environment. Extensive data on patient flow and resource utilization is generated through the software's reporting engine to assist high acuity departments to further analyze department utilization.

"We are looking forward to generating the efficiency and patient safety benefits from the integration of automatic tracking systems in our high acuity departments," said Tony Fonze, Clinical Consultant to Carondelet Health Network. "Emergency departments and perioperative suites share the common challenge of attempting to manage complex processes that tend to occur around corners, in multiple areas and behind closed doors. The tracking solutions offered by Patient Care Technology Systems illuminates these processes making them more visible and consequently, more manageable. We selected Patient Care Technology Systems for their experience in successfully implementing automatic tracking software in high volume, high acuity settings."

According to Dianne Foster, Director of Emergency Services, Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital, "Real time tracking of patients, test results, equipment needed for patient care and other information eliminates wasted nurse and physician time searching rather than delivering care to patients. Our care of patients will be better organized, communicated more effectively, and our patient flow will be more streamlined. For our patients, this means less wait times, decisions reached faster, and the patient's location and visit status, from point of entry to discharge or admission, will always be right in front of us."

Patient Care Technology Systems provides a suite of department-specific and enterprise-wide automatic patient and asset tracking solutions designed to organize workflow and to improve patient flow through organized communications. The software applications work with all forms of locating hardware including ultra-wideband, RFID, Wi-Fi and infrared. PCTS works with healthcare providers to determine the most suitable configuration based on factors such as tracking precision requirements, the physical plant, and the hospital network infrastructure.

PCTS is presenting its automatic tracking software in booth # 1627 at the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) Scientific Assembly to be held September 14-16, 2006 in San Antonio, Texas. At the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) Informatics conference to be held September 15-16 in Denver, Colorado, PCTS will present a break out session entitled "Improving the Efficiency of Your Perioperative Suite with Automatic Patient and Asset Tracking."

About Carondelet Health Network

Carondelet Health Network is a Catholic, nonprofit healthcare system founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. Carondelet Health includes St. Mary's Hospital and St. Joseph's Hospital in Pima County, Holy Cross Hospital in Santa Cruz County, ambulatory surgery centers, outpatient medical malls, 16 Carondelet Medical Group primary care offices and the Carondelet Foundation.

One of the largest employers in the Pima and Santa Cruz Counties, Carondelet Health employs approximately 4,000, and has more than 1,500 physicians on the medical staff. In calendar year 2005, Carondelet Health Network contributed approximately $25 million in community benefit to the southern Arizona region. Carondelet Health Network is a member of Ascension Health. More information is available at www.carondelet.org.

About Patient Care Technology Systems

Patient Care Technology Systems, a subsidiary of Consulier Engineering, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSLR), is dedicated to becoming the leading provider of patient safety solutions in the high acuity segments of healthcare. Featuring the Amelior ED(TM) patient care system, a comprehensive ED information system with clinical decision support; and Amelior EDTracker(TM) automatic tracking, the most widely implemented automatic tracking system in U.S. emergency departments; PCTS provides a family of integrated and intelligent solutions designed to reduce medical errors and improve the operating performance of high acuity departments. Amelior(TM) patient care system customers have been recognized nationally for department productivity and nursing excellence. For more information, visit www.pcts.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. PCTS and CSLR caution you that any statements contained in this press release which are not strictly historical statements constitute forward-looking statements. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements, (copies of which may be obtained at the SEC's website at: http://www.sec.gov) -- could impact the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Readers should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. PCTS and CSLR disclaim any obligation to publicly update or revise any such statements to reflect any change in PCTS and CSLR's expectations, or in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements may be based, or that may affect the likelihood that actual results will differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

Source: Business Wire

More News in this Category