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Today’s intensive care units (ICUs) serve 4 million patients annually, and hospitals currently are experiencing a significant shortage in healthcare professionals specializing in intensive care, also known as intensivists. This shortage affects the quality of care provided to patients, and ultimately the mortality rate for ICUs. But new health management technology has helped hospitals improve the level of care in ICUs and, in turn, save more lives. Here are three examples of ways technology now impacts the delivery of ICU care.

Increased access to telemonitoring
Tele-ICU technology, health technology management tools that allow intensivists to interact with a larger scope of patients in different locations, are being adopted by hospitals as one potential solution to the shortage problem. Via a tele-communication system, intensivists can access patient information, interact with patients and make important decisions about treatment and therapy regimens.

St. Mary’s Health Center, a healthcare facility in Missouri, started using a tele-ICU system in 2009. One year after they began using the health technology tool, the mortality rate in the ICU dropped by 24 percent. Additionally, cardiac arrests dropped by 69 percent, ICU patient length of stay dropped by 14 percent, and there were no cases of ventilator-associated pneumonia. 

The adoption of health technology management systems, including tele-ICU technology, has been slow, mostly due to the high start-up costs. But some studies have shown that their effectiveness may outweigh the initial expense.

The New England Health Institute conducted a study to gauge the impact of tele-ICU technology on patient mortality and ICU length of stay, in which they gathered information from two facilities using health management technology in their ICUs.

According to their data, ICU mortality rates dropped by 20 percent and total hospital mortality rates decreased by 13 percent. One of the facilities saw a 36 percent drop in ICU patient mortality, and a 30 percent decrease in length of patient stay.

However, there is some disagreement in the medical community as to whether or not telemonitoring improves patient outcomes across the board. In fact, one study presented in 2011 showed that among 40,000 critically ill patients, there was no statistically significant difference in hospital mortality between critically ill patients who received ICU telemonitoring and those who did not.

Sophisticated clinical information systems
Research shows that simply having a more sophisticated clinical information system can have a positive impact on an ICU’s performance. A 2007 study of Michigan hospitals found that the presence of more sophisticated ICU information systems was associated with greater reductions in catheter-related bloodstream infections.

More online learning options
Undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate and professional degrees and training options are increasingly available online, and employers are progressively more likely to accept them. According to eLearners.com, 86 percent of employers are willing to hire a job applicant who has an online degree. In addition, most employers will accept online certifications such as advanced cardiac life support. And research shows that an online course is just as effective, if not more so, as a classroom program. For busy ICU professionals, online options offer an easy way to quickly learn how to improve delivery of care and advance professional skill sets.

About Health Ed Solutions
Health Ed Solutions offers a variety of online certification courses for first responders, healthcare professionals and others seeking to be prepared in an emergency. To learn more about online certification options, visit the course catalog.

Source:
http://healthcareitnews.com/news/missouri-hospital-saves-lives-virtual-icu-technology