U of Illinois Centralizes Patient Monitoring Information

by Jeff Berman, Health-IT World

Clinicians at the University of Illinois Medical Center (UIMC) will soon have access to patient information from anywhere in the hospital due to a 10-year partnership with Spacelabs Medical, a provider of acute-care patient monitoring services. The Spacelabs implementation will take place over the next 18 months. Financial terms were not disclosed. UIMC selected Spacelabs to enhance the flow of documented patient data from a single patient monitoring system into its Cerner Millennium information EMR system. Prior to this integration, UIMC clinicians used several department-specific systems, so patient information and documentation was only accessible from individual departments.

“This initiative will provide our clinicians with updated patient information for most of our patientcare departments,” said Andrew Reed, UIMC administrator of cardiology and pathology services. “Switching to a single [patient] monitoring system will be more efficient than working on multiple platforms that are fragmented, antiquated, and not communicative.”

With the new system, UIMC clinicians will be able to review patient data taken from ventilators, balloon pumps, pulse oximeters (and other devices) that are connected to the Spacelabs monitors. Readings and results will be integrated into the Cerner system, expediting the flow of information into patient records.

“The interconnectivity between a centralized monitor system and the Cerner system will make it easier for clinicians to check on patients, since patient data will be accessible from any desktop location in the hospital,” said David Teixeira, Spacelabs product manager for centers, networks, and interfaces. Teixeira said another benefit of the system is that it enables clinicians to check patient progress without going to see each patient individually, a time-consuming effort. Configuring the new system, space considerations, and getting clinician buy-in are the project’s initial challenges, Reed stated. “There are definitely advantages in making this transition. We need to make sure clinicians are able to see what the long-term benefits [of this implementation] are,” he said.

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