ICU patients are among the most critical patients in a hospital. Their outcomes are precarious and as such, these patients require constant monitoring to ensure they receive the most appropriate care possible at the exact time they need it. Unfortunately, with the staffing shortages that most hospitals are experiencing, monitoring ICU patients can be challenging. This is where tele ICU and EICU come in. Here’s how this technology can save lives.
Experienced Medical Professionals On Duty at All Times
The single biggest impact that tele ICU technology can have on patient outcomes is that no matter what time of the day or night it is, there is an experienced medical professional on duty. If a patient needs medication in the middle of the night or requires a specific procedure on the weekend, they can get exactly what they need, when they need it.
Instead of waiting until an ICU physician comes on duty in the morning or on Monday to assess the patient, a tele ICU doctor can take care of the issue immediately. Sometimes, ICU patients can’t wait a few hours to get treatment and the delay they might experience as an ICU nurse tries to track down the ordering physician can be the difference between life and death.
With tele ICU, an ordering physician is on duty at all times, so a nurse can contact them any time they have a question about a patient or a patient’s vitals indicate they need immediate medical intervention. Patient outcomes will naturally improve with the ability to treat a patient at the time they need it rather than hours later.
Electronic Monitoring
ICU staff members are already overworked and understaffed, which means some things are going to fall through the cracks. But when it comes to a patient’s life, those cracks simply can’t happen. Having a second pair of eyes on every patient’s vital signs through electronic monitoring means fewer mistakes and fewer missed vital sign changes.
Since there are cameras in each patient’s room, a tele ICU professional can remotely examine a patient when a change in vital signs is detected. For example, if a patient attempts to get out of bed, an alarm will sound both in the ICU and in the tele ICU monitoring station. Both in-person and remote staff should respond, but if the in-person staff member is otherwise occupied with another patient, the remote professional will take over.
This extra monitoring ensures that patients’ needs are addressed in real time. They aren’t compromised because of an in-person staffing shortage, which is the way it should be. No one wants their needs neglected because there isn’t anyone available to help at the moment. Electronic monitoring ensures this doesn’t happen.
Conclusion
Hospitals can’t afford to have negative ICU patient outcomes, especially if they can be prevented through better monitoring. With tele ICU technology, hospitals don’t have to worry about their staffing challenges as much because they know that someone will be on duty even if they aren’t able to staff their ICU fully in person.
