Patient monitoring, information technology

GE receives FDA clearance for Carescape patient data-capture module

30 May 2007

Waukesha, Wisc. USA. GE Healthcare has received US FDA clearance for its Carescape patient data module for mobile patient monitoring.

The module ensures that the receiving nurse has a complete monitoring history when a patient arrives. It features 24-hour capture of critical patient data and a unique close-to-the-patient, self-powered design that alleviates common portability constraints.

The product is a central component of the new GE Carescape portfolio, an integrated suite of patient monitoring devices, communications networks and IT systems designed to transform traditional patient monitoring data into clinical intelligence.

The module is small enough to stay with the patient to capture and store all patient measurements — both standard and specialty — providing clinicians with the unique ability to maintain critical baseline measurements typically lost during transport. Its close-to-the-patient design reduces the length of cables that typically tether the patient to wall-mounted equipment, and its simple grab-and-go transport capability reduces the potential for connection delays.

“Humans can only assimilate so much un-integrated information. The power of systems — whether it’s a physiologic monitor or IT system or ideally a system that combines those functions — is to integrate the information and then use it optimally,” said M. Michael Shabot, M.D., Director of Surgery Critical Care, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California (2006). “That’s where the real power comes from. It is the way quality and safety will be measured, and the way data will be managed in ICUs in the future.”

The Carescape portfolio is designed to address several trends facing hospital systems in the US (and other developed countries):

  • The number of patients with critical conditions in US hospitals grew by 21% in a five-year period.(1)
  • By 2020 there is expected to be a shortage of 1 million registered nurses in the US.(2)
  • US demand for patient monitoring systems will grow 5.4% annually through 2010, bolstered by technological advances.(3)
  • There are nearly 80 million baby boomers in the US, and as this population ages, the average acuity of hospitalized patients is projected to grow rapidly.(4)

“The traditional approach to patient monitoring has outlived its usefulness,” said David Ataide, Vice President & General Manager for GE Healthcare’s Monitoring Solutions business. “Clinicians facing today’s healthcare challenges need a new approach. After extensive interviews with some of the world’s most forward-thinking hospitals, we developed CARESCAPE. These five products reflect our commitment to helping care providers do their jobs better and ultimately improve patient care.”

References

1. Unruh L. Licensed nurse staffing and adverse outcomes in hospitals. Med Care (AHRQ and NSF study). 2003.

2. Physician Workforce Policy Guidelines for the United States, 2000-2020. College of Graduate Medical Education.

3. Patient Monitoring Systems to 2010. The Freedonia Group. 1 May 2006.

4. The Critical Care Workforce: A Study of the Supply and Demand for Critical Care Physicians. Requested by: US Senate Report 108-81.

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