News
Microsoft releases software tool to monitor adverse events in
hospitals
25 February 2008
Microsoft has released the
Patient Safety Screening Tool (PSST), which features a set of indicators that
provide information on potential in-hospital complications and adverse
events following surgery and medical procedures.
The first module of this platform is the Patient Safety
Screening Tool for Sepsis. Sepsis is a deadly infection that
strikes an estimated 750,000 people annually in the United States alone.
This module is being supported
and delivered by Microsoft partner Accent on Integration (AOI), a
US systems integrator focused on the healthcare market, with
clinical direction from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC).
Built entirely on the Microsoft platform, the solution leverages
Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Microsoft
Office SharePoint Server 2007, Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 and
Microsoft InfoPath (Office 2007 version).
PSST for Sepsis can be modified to any customer environment and is designed to provide rapid
implementation with minimal configuration. The solution's first focus is
on tracking sepsis, a major killer worldwide, but will have
the ability to track many other diseases.
"Reducing mortality due to severe sepsis requires an organized
process that guarantees the early recognition of the infection, along
with the uniform and consistent application of the best evidence-based
practices," said Chris Sullivan, industry solutions director, Microsoft
US Health and Life Sciences Group.
"The Patient Safety Screening Tool
for Sepsis can help save lives by monitoring clinical data inputs and
dispatching alerts and reminders based on predefined thresholds and
pattern matching to facilitate early detection and intervention."
Early detection of sepsis not only saves lives, it can save money for
hospitals and healthcare providers. Today severe sepsis accounts for an
estimated 40% of total intensive care unit (ICU) expenditures, or $16.7 billion in
the United States alone.
Adding to the potential liability for
hospitals in the US, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid recently issued a
ruling in August 2007 that limits the payment hospitals will receive for
certain preventable hospital- acquired infections and serious
preventable errors. Sepsis is on the short list for addition to the list
of conditions covered starting in 2009.
"The average day in the ICU costs $5,000. Early detection of sepsis
can reduce a patient's length of stay from 15 to 10 days and save the
healthcare system $25,000," said Jason Whiteside, vice president of
business development, AOI. "Reducing infection rates also drives
consumer demand. That's because people are increasingly searching for
healthcare systems with the highest quality of care."
Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) is currently conducting a pilot project in which
Microsoft's PSST for Sepsis is assisting with the early detection of the
disease. The solution relies on integration with bedside medical
equipment data as well as lab and registration data, so that clinical
workflow items can be automated to prevent the rise of sepsis. At VUMC,
all this information can be communicated to the PSST through an
innovative remote patient-monitoring solution called Vigilance from
Acuitec.
"Even with the years of specialized training physicians receive, it
is challenging to see patterns in clinical data amid chaos," said Dr.
John Barwise, assistant professor of anesthesiology and neurosurgery,
Division of Critical Care, VUMC. "The early detection and treatment of
sepsis requires a number of tests, observations and decisions to be made
in a limited amount of time. Microsoft's Patient Safety Screening Tool
is an essential tool in the fight against sepsis. While the initial
focus with PSST is early detection of severe sepsis, the tool is
flexible to allow for future modules such as MRSA, pneumonia, urinary
tract infections and more."
"The Patient Safety Screening Tool is a suite of Microsoft
technologies that enable caregiver collaboration and increase patient
safety through early detection of severe sepsis in critical care units,"
said Randy Fusco, industry technical strategist, Microsoft US Health and
Life Sciences Group.
The Patient Safety Screening Tool is part of the Microsoft Connected
Health Framework Architecture and Design Blueprint. Launched at last
year's Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)
show, the blueprint offers a real-world model for healthcare providers
seeking to deploy service-oriented architecture solutions to address
increasing pressures on an overburdened and fragmented healthcare
system.
The Connected Health Framework Architecture and Design Blueprint
provides a vendor-agnostic approach for addressing integration and
solutions within healthcare organizations. It also offers guidance to
help these organizations address key issues such as service delivery
capability, capacity and reliability.
More information on the Patient Safety Screening Tool for Sepsis is
available at the Accent on Integration Web site at
http://www.accentonintegration.com/
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