New Study Suggests Connected Hospitals Could Save Thousands of Lives

Earlier this week MSN published the article, "Medical Error Third Leading Cause of Death in US: Study". The article highlights a study done by the medical journal BMJ. Accroding to the article, in 2013 at least 250,000 people died from preventable mistakes such as communication breakdowns, fragmented healthcare, diagnostic mistakes, and over-dosing. "That number exceeds deaths from strokes and Alzheimer's combined, and is topped only by heart disease and cancer, which each claim about 600,000 lives per year."

This study outlines the importance of good systems (both medical processes and technical systems), and the need for a more connected hospital. In the Connected Hospital, every device is connected and communicating with the EHRs for accurate patient records and real-time data analysis. Within the Connected Hospital, nurses can monitor many patients remotely from one main station, receiving alerts and observing data captured each second on the patients’ health. Doctors can make more informed decisions with accurate and up-to-date patient information, leading to better patient outcomes. The Medical Device Connectivity Market report states that various locations that have implemented CPOE (Computerized Physician Order Entry) systems have demonstrated a 20% decrease in hospital wide mortality rates [1]. Automating the data transfer from medical devices to the EHR improves communication of accurate and up to date medical information, allowing medical staff to make proper diagnostic decisions. This frees up nurses' and clinicians' time to spend on improving patient care, rather than documentation of data.

Learn more about the benefits and challenges associated with the Connected Hospital, here.

[1] Transparency Market Research. (2013). "Medical Device Connectivity Market (Wired hardware, Wireless hardware and Software) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast 2013 - 2019". http://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/medical-device-connectivity-m…