Cisco, Philips, and Emergin Collaborate on Patient Monitoring Solution That Delivers Immediate Waveform and Text Medical Alarms to Clinicians

Central DuPage Hospital telemetry unit uses solution to monitor cardiac patients.

SAN DIEGO, Calif., (HIMSS 2006) - February 13, 2006 - Cisco Systems announced today that healthcare clinicians can now receive mobile medical alarms, such as electrocardiogram alerts on wireless Internet Protocol (IP) phones, to help improve the quality of patient care with fast and effective decision-making.

In conjunction with leading medical device provider Philips Medical Systems and leading plug n’play integration company Emergin, the Cisco Clinical Connection Suite Patient Monitoring solution now allows clinicians to receive mobile alarm information, such as electrocardiogram data that records heart beat activity, on the Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920. Today’s announcement was made at the annual Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) show where Cisco is demonstrating its suite of Medical-Grade network solutions for the healthcare industry, including the Cisco Clinical Connection Suite, at Cisco Booth # 2513 - Hall E.

The Cisco Patient Monitoring solution sends electrocardiogram data via waveform snippets and text messages to the Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920 from the Philips IntelliVue patient monitoring system via the Emergin Patient Monitoring Gateway. Acting as a secondary alarm notification, the solution allows nurses and clinicians to maintain their mobility while still receiving critical patient data. While the primary alarming mechanism remains at the patient’s bedside monitor or an associated central station, the additional waveform information enables assessments to begin even as the staff goes to the patient’s bedside or unit monitors for further analysis.

At Central DuPage Hospital, a nationally recognized 361-bed facility located in Winfield, Ill., the Cisco-Philips-Emergin Patient Monitoring offering has helped the facility increase the productivity of its nurses and improve the quality of patient care, while building on Central DuPage’s growing mobile workplace. The hospital uses the solution in its 38-bed cardiac telemetry unit to deliver critical alarm and heart rhythm information directly to nurses on their Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920. Previously nurses would receive verbal alarms from remote telemetry technicians in the event of a rhythm change via pagers. They are are now able to receive the actual waveform associated with the event that triggered the alarm on their wireless phones.

According to Central DuPage’s Medical Director for Quality and Safety, Dr. David Cooke, “Having the ability to view and interpret the heart rhythm messages directly has inserted the nursing staff back into the heart-rhythm-assessment loop. This has improved response times by allowing nurses to begin applying treatment options almost immediately, which is especially critical for cardiac patients in emergency medical situations. We see these capabilities as a natural extension of Central DuPage’s commitment to become a leading digital healthcare institution.”

The Cisco Clinical Connection Suite consists of four integrated clinical solutions - Nurse Call, Patient Monitoring, Location-Based Services and Collaborative Care - that direct, locate and prioritize information for clinicians and their patients, aiding faster, smarter healthcare. As a result, hospitals realize improved staff productivity, reduced capital and operating costs with extended systems, and a significantly enhanced quality of care and services.

“Healthcare organizations aren’t challenged with workflow automation - they expect partners to integrate their systems in a manner that improves a caregiver’s effectiveness and efficiency,” said Kent Gray, global lead for Cisco healthcare solutions. “Cisco Clinical Connection Suite provides intelligent networking to ensure that information goes only to the right person, at the right place and the right time - whether the information emanates from an EKG monitor, an IP phone or an RFID-labeled wheelchair. Working with a global leader like Philips Medical Systems, we can collectively improve patient care and workforce efficiency.”

“As the leader in patient monitoring, Philips is pleased to team with Cisco to help nurses maintain optimum levels of mobility and productivity by obtaining patient data,” said Carla Joliat, director of product marketing for Philips Medical Systems. “When combined with Cisco’s advanced IP communications capabilities, the solution helps make clinicians’ lives easier by providing a viable mobile option for receiving alarm information.”

For more information about Cisco healthcare solutions, please visit www.cisco.com/go/healthcare


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