Telemonitoring to Improve Patient Safety and Achieve Cost Efficiencies

Although budget cuts and staffing shortages are now a fact of life across the healthcare industry, hospitals are still expected to deliver the highest possible quality of care to every patient.

To do more with less, acute care providers must seek innovative technologies to make the most of limited resources without compromising patent safety. In recent years, an increasing number of hospitals have turned to telemonitoring systems to address some of these challenges.

What is Telemonitoring?

Every hospital census includes a certain number of patients in need of one-on-one monitoring due to factors such as:

• Fall History
• Dementia
• Confusion or Aggressive Behavior
• Mechanical Ventilation
• Telemetry
• Frequent Readmissions to ICU

Hospitals have traditionally deployed a bedsitter to provide in-room support for each patient known to be at risk. But with the cost of a single bedsitter easily reaching seven figures, one-on-one monitoring can quickly balloon into a substantial unbudgeted expense at a time when many medical systems are already struggling to stretch their resources.

However, telemonitoring has emerged as a safe and cost-effective alternative to the traditional bedsitter approach in recent years. Thanks to these camera-based virtual sitters, providers can now assign a single trained staff member to a remote workstation, where they’re able to simultaneously observe and support multiple at-risk patients via two-way audio and visual feeds.

Cost-Saving Advantages of Telemonitoring

In-person bedsitters come with a crucial drawback: their costs are not reimbursable. Although the non-clinical staff typically assigned bed-sitting duties are usually paid lower wages than nurses and other clinical staff, the expense can quickly add up, especially when a hospital treats multiple at-risk patients.
But according to a recent study in the Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, acute care facilities that deploy virtual sitters to monitor their at-risk patients can expect to see significant cost savings without any corresponding increase in falls or self-harm events.

Additional research in Rehabilitation Nursing credited one hospital’s telemonitoring program for more than $186,000 in cost savings, as well as a “statistically significant” reduction in falls just 12 months after implementation. The study's authors also attributed improvements for patient, family, and staff satisfaction to the telemonitoring program.

Patient Safety and Virtual Sitters

There are many ways a telemonitoring system can enhance a hospital’s safety protocols.

• Reduce Fall Risk: When a fall-risk patient attempts to leave their bed, the virtual observer can communicate via two-way audio to coax the patient back into bed. The observer will ­­­­also be able to alert on-floor staff to assist the patient.
• Lower the Potential for Suicide: Virtual sitters can act as a second set of eyes when patients pose a risk to themselves.
• Curb Dangerous Behavior: A virtual sitter help curb dangerous behaviour when a patient has a history of aggression or violence against others. Telemonitoring has also been found to discourage visitors from providing a patient with outside foods or medications that could harm their health.
• Faster Response in Emergencies: Telemonitoring technology can also connect patients with offsite clinicians in an emergency. Telemedicine carts and two-way video and audio capabilities allow healthcare professionals on a rapid response team to conduct assessments when they’re not physically present at the hospital.
• Ensure Continuous Care During Transfers: The availability of telemonitoring and virtual observation ensures patients will receive continuous attention as they await transfer from the emergency room to critical care or from one healthcare facility to another.

Whether a telemonitoring system's camera is being mounted to the wall, ceiling, or a mobile telesitter cart, it will pan and pivot to view the patient from anywhere in their hospital room. The two-way audio and visual feeds give the virtual observer the ability to detect skin colour changes or shallow breathing, monitor blood pressure, and inform floor staff of altered sleeping patterns, changes in eating habits, or unusual behaviours. In some cases, telemonitoring platforms can even be configured to provide the observer with remote control of in-room medical devices.

Finally, telemonitoring systems enable the observer to log all patient behaviours, giving hospitals quick access to readily available data they can use to identify areas for improvement and initiate corrective actions.

First Products: Innovative Solutions for Today’s Hospitals

First Products has provided high-quality, innovative solutions to help hospitals improve workflows, increase cost efficiencies, and enhance patient safety for more than 50 years.

Whether you’re in the market for telemedicine or telesitter carts, tablet roll stands, or workstations on wheels, First Healthcare can ensure your facility transitions to telemonitoring with ease. We’ll even work directly with your staff to customize a perfect-fit solution in the unusual event our available offerings don’t already address your specific needs.

To learn how First Products can help your hospital thrive in today’s increasingly challenging environment, please call 800.854.8304 to arrange for your COMPLIMENTARY DEMO today.