Patient Sensor Improves Pressure-Ulcer Prevention Compliance

A three month study of a wearable ulcer prevention technology showed that it was effective in preventing the occurrence of pressure ulcers by increasing adherence to established protocols, according to Leaf Healthcare, Inc., the company that developed the device.

The Leaf system is a wearable sensor that electronically monitors a patient's position and movements and then wirelessly communicates the data collected to central monitoring stations or mobile devices so that nurses and other caregivers can check on patient position and movement. The Leaf sensor also will sound alerts when necessary to ensure that all patients are repositioned according to established turning schedules, to reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers.

Results of the clinical trial were presented this month at the American Nurses Credential Center National Magnet Conference in Dallas. The trial found that use of the monitoring device increased compliance with hospital turn protocols from a baseline of 64 percent at the start of the trial, to 98 percent after the system was implemented.

The INQRI funded project “Interdisciplinary Mobility Team Approach to Reduction of Facility-Acquired Pressure Ulcers” developed a sustainable, system-wide program for pressure ulcer prevention that enhances mobility of long-term care (LTC) residents. The primary goal, under nursing's leadership, was to reduce LTC facility-acquired pressure ulcer incidence by 50 percent using a cost-effective innovative program to increase resident active or passive movement. The team, which developed and implemented a program that involved using musical cues to remind residents to move or staff to help residents move, was led by Tracey Yap, a nurse researcher, and Jay Kim, an engineer.

Using Technology to Help Nurses Spend More Time on Direct Patient Care

A study published in 2008 found that medical-surgical nurses spent 19.1 percent of their time involved in patient care activities, but 35.3 percent on documentation. A blog on Advance for Nurses by Michael Wong of the Physician-Patient Alliance for Health & Safety discusses the ways that nurses can use technology to improve patient safety and allow them to spend more time providing direct care.

The blog is based on the recommendations of three nurses who spoke at the Patient, Safety Science & Technology Summit held in January of this year. Those nurses are: Lillee Gelinas, vice president and chief nursing officer of VHA, Inc.; Linda Groah, executive director of the Association of perOperative Registered Nurses; and Juliana Morath, chief quality and safety officer at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Their recommendations include: using monitoring technology as a patient safety net; using monitoring technology that incorporates multiple parameters into a single system as opposed to monitoring things separately; and ensuring that technology is nurse-friendly. Wong also recommends that nurses be an integral part of the process of selecting and implementing the use of the technology they will use and interact with.

An INQRI-funded study led by Linda Flynn and Dong-Churl Suh found that nurses were better able to intercept medication errors when they worked in a supportive environment, including opportunities to participate in hospital decisions and continuity of patient care assignments, among other factors.

Nurses Use IPhones For Work At Boston Hospital

This past week, Massachusetts General Hospital introduced an innovative clinical communication technology that is used on smartphones. This communication device allows nurses to recieve care alerts, make phone calls over the hospital's Wi-Fi network and manage workflow through text messages. Nurses at Mass General have already heralded the software's impact on their efficiency in responding their patients' needs.

Click here or here to read more about the new technology implemented at Mass Gen Hospital.

Unique Uses of Technological Advances

Technological advances offer much opportunity to enhance patient care in new and very dynamic ways.  For example, ICU patients at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in Worcester have recently benefited by the center's trial use of a new tele-ICU system.  This system allows off-site doctors and nurses to remotely monitor their patients and direct on-site staff.  During the trial, the ICU experienced fewer patient deaths and patients experienced shorter ICU stays.  Using tele-ICU, intensive care specialists can not only access medical records remotely, but they can also see and hear patients while monitoring vital signs.

Another example resides in Barbara McLean's use of social media to improve bedside nursing.  McLean, MN, RN, CCRN, CCNS, CRNP, FCCM, uses Facebook, Twitter, podcasts and her own interactive website to educate nurses all over the world. 

“I saw, early in my career, that hospitals didn’t always have the experts they needed in house to take practice to a higher level,” McLean said. “I was fortunate to have a gift for public speaking and to possess the ability to put complex issues in a form that people can understand.”

In addition, she uses her online network to support philanthropic activities, mission trips to Haiti and Africa and much more.

Click here to learn more about tele-ICU.
Click here to learn more about Barbara McLean.

Nursing Informatics: What Devices & Apps Are Available For Nurses?

With the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Conference in full swing today, I thought it would be appropriate to focus a blogpost on the growing trends of nursing informatics. Yesterday, Angela Lewis, of advanceweb.com, detailed the many devices, apps and e-books that nurses may find extremely useful in both clinical and academic settings. Technology has continued to progress to the point that many nurses feel comfortable utilizing new 'hi-tech gear' to assist them in their decision making on a daily basis.

Click here to read the article.

Click here & here to read some blogs discussing the 'best technological products' for nurses to utilize.