Project Statement
Vital signs represent one of the most fundamental aspects of patient care within the hospital setting. Accurate data entry of vital signs allows for timely and appropriate treatments and interventions when necessary. According to Smith, Banner, Lozano, Olney and Friedman, error rates of vital sign documentation first written on paper, then entered into a paper or EMR system were 10% and 4.4% respectively (2009). A study performed by Smith et al., studied the effect of a wireless capture and transmission of vital signs via the use of a CARESCAPE. The study found a significant decrease in vital sign documentation error rate at less than 1% (2009). As one of the region’s largest hospitals, Medstar Washington Hospital Center (MWHC) has begun to advance their patient care through the use of the EMR. Centricity. However, CARESCAPE use for vital signs is completely independent of this system, requiring manual input of vital signs for each patient’s chart. This project aims to reduce error in vital sign documentation, efficiency, and provide real-time data upload to the EMR to improve patient safety and care.
Goals and Objectives
The goal of this project is to improve real time data collection in order to provide safer and more efficient patient care. The objective of this project involves the integration of software/hardware into an existing hospital EMR system, Centricity, which will automatically update data obtained via CARESCAPE to the patient’s EMR. The use of this software will allow for vitals to be collected and documented in the patient’s EMR in real time, allowing clinicians real-time access.
Cost Objectives
This type of technology can allow clinicians to see vital sign trends as they happen and appropriately intervene when concerning data is noted. This project will improve patient safety and decrease the number of Code Blues and Rapid Responses via early recognition of abnormal vital sign trends and interventions.
Vital signs represent one of the most fundamental aspects of patient care within the hospital setting. Accurate data entry of vital signs allows for timely and appropriate treatments and interventions when necessary. According to Smith, Banner, Lozano, Olney and Friedman, error rates of vital sign documentation first written on paper, then entered into a paper or EMR system were 10% and 4.4% respectively (2009). A study performed by Smith et al., studied the effect of a wireless capture and transmission of vital signs via the use of a CARESCAPE. The study found a significant decrease in vital sign documentation error rate at less than 1% (2009). As one of the region’s largest hospitals, Medstar Washington Hospital Center (MWHC) has begun to advance their patient care through the use of the EMR. Centricity. However, CARESCAPE use for vital signs is completely independent of this system, requiring manual input of vital signs for each patient’s chart. This project aims to reduce error in vital sign documentation, efficiency, and provide real-time data upload to the EMR to improve patient safety and care.
Goals and Objectives
The goal of this project is to improve real time data collection in order to provide safer and more efficient patient care. The objective of this project involves the integration of software/hardware into an existing hospital EMR system, Centricity, which will automatically update data obtained via CARESCAPE to the patient’s EMR. The use of this software will allow for vitals to be collected and documented in the patient’s EMR in real time, allowing clinicians real-time access.
Cost Objectives
This type of technology can allow clinicians to see vital sign trends as they happen and appropriately intervene when concerning data is noted. This project will improve patient safety and decrease the number of Code Blues and Rapid Responses via early recognition of abnormal vital sign trends and interventions.