What is Patient Tele-Monitoring?
The Patient Tele-Monitoring Program allows a two-way communication between a trained Patient Observation Technician and up to six patients at a time from outside their hospital rooms. A motion detector sends notifications through the monitoring computer to the technician, allowing them to verbally redirect the patient to keep their treatments in place or stay in their bed if getting up by themselves is unsafe. The technician can also make dispatch calls through touch-based interaction, with the patient room and event displayed in the touched video feed.
How does Patient Tele-Monitoring help?
By allowing one technician to monitor up to six patients at a time, it leads to a significant cost savings for the hospital. Monitoring – with an in-person sitter or the system – is necessary to address the rising number of vulnerable patients with confusion, delirium or dementia. Around-the-clock observation with someone ready to intervene and prevent patients from accidentally injuring themselves through falls or pulling on lines can help prevent adverse events and injuries. However, 1-to-1 direct observation is costly – and that cost was rising rapidly as Canada’s aging population has been increasing the need for 1:1 bedside observation.
Working closely with the Sprott Department of Surgery at UHN, Techna has designed, built and successfully implemented a technology solution to provide 24/7 remote observation of patients at risk for adverse events.
How is the Patient Tele-Monitoring Program different?
The Patient Tele-monitoring system features motion detectors to supplement the vigilance of the monitoring technician. The system is also integrated within the UHN network from the ground up, with a privacy-by-design approach (audio and video of the patient room is never recorded).