The status quo for centralized telemetry often falls short. It can lead to delayed monitoring, conflated patient information, hampered communication and missed deterioration – all while the din of false or non-actionable alarms continues unabated. In response, the Philips Central Monitoring Unit (CMU) sheds old constraints to deliver dependable patient oversight and frontline support. A next-generation CMU, its end-to-end solution supports alarm management and communication, staff workflows, and patient safety and flow. A step-by-step patient journey demonstrates the features and benefits.
In this scenario, the health system operates a Philips CMU shared by multiple hospitals. In addition to a team of monitor techs, the CMU has a lead tech for each shift and a manager. The health system has decided to accept the recommendations of the Philips Standards team for configuring its centralized telemetry, including its alarm parameters and settings.
As with all Philips CMUs, the PIC iX informatics platform lies at the heart, connecting CMU workstations with patient monitors and central stations across hospitals and capturing, storing, analyzing and sharing data. The health system also deploys Philips Event Notification for alarm communications and the Care Assist app for clinician smartphones.
Thanks to the flexible sectors afforded by PIC iX, the CMU maintains a max ratio of 48 patients per monitor tech. The monitor techs tap a suite of Philips clinical decision support tools, while the lead tech and CMU manager use the integrated Clinical Insights Manager analytics engine – specifically the Telemetry Insights Manager (TIM) and Alarm Insights Manager (AIM) applications.
Let’s get started.
Step 1: Admission and monitor application
Step 2: Wavestrip export
Step 3: Alarm customization
Step 4: Filtering non-actionable alarms
Step 5: Dispatching meaningful alarms
Step 6: Discontinuing telemetry