Sep 30, 2022 by Philips
Reading time: 2-3 minutes

Saratoga Hospital reduces patient transfers from orthopedic unit to the ICU by 63%

When Diane Bartos, Administrative Director of the Intensive Care Unit at Saratoga Hospital (Saratoga Springs, New York, USA), conducted research on patient events, she identified a need for more support for nursing staff as they dealt with events, including an opportunity to use technology to reduce a patient’s likelihood of returning to the ICU.

To address that need, Saratoga Hospital teamed with Philips to implement a solution that included monitors and Philips IntelliVue Guardian Software for early detection of patient deterioration.

Identifying patients at risk

Learn more about Saratoga Hospital’s success in reducing patient transfers from the orthopedic ward to the ICU and eliminating patient codes in the orthopedic unit.

Read the case study (1.02MB)

Reducing patient transfers to the ICU by 63%

Since implementing Philips patient monitoring solution with automated Early Warning Scoring (EWS) in 2015, Saratoga Hospital has reduced patient transfers to the ICU by 63% and eliminated patient codes within its 20-bed orthopedic unit, which dropped from three or four codes per year to zero. Not only did the solution enhance workflow, but it also empowered nurses to make more confident care decisions and intervene quicker.

“By leveraging the Philips IntelliVue Guardian Solution and Early Warning Scoring, clinicians were able to identify and detect problematic changes in patients’ vital sign information hours before a potential adverse event could occur. This gave Saratoga’s clinicians time to intervene before a patient deteriorated and required transfer back to the ICU,” Bartos explains.

Watch this video to learn more about how Saratoga Hospital uses technology to empower nurses.

Philips IntelliVue Guardian Software automatically calculates EWS and alerts clinicians of subtle signs of deterioration in a patient’s condition. The scores are sent to the EHR via Philips IntelliBridge Enterprise, eliminating manual entry and the associated risk of error and ensuring that EHR records are timely and accurate.

It (IntelliVue Guardian Software) looks at key vital signs, and it gives a point score for each vital sign that's abnormal with a total point score. If they (nurses) need help, the ICU can help them in responding to that score and/or the charge nurse will follow up with the physicians. It's intuitive, it tells nurses what is going on and helps them to make a confident decision.”

Diane Bartos

Administrative director of the ICU at Saratoga Hospital

The benefits of the IntelliVue Guardian solution include:

Recognizing signs of deterioration early at the point of care, which allows clinicians to act with a coordinated, effective response – in time to make a difference
The ability to assess trends in how a patient is doing more accurately than with manual data acquisition and entry
Nurses can spend more time with patients, improving staff satisfaction and the patient experience
Cost avoidance may be achieved by reducing unplanned ICU readmissions and lessening unnecessary resource utilization