eICU: Useful or useless?

[robred]

Just read an article in Nursing Matters here in WI. Aurora Healthcare is implementing eICU, a remote monitoring system, at two hospitals in it's network. This consists of intensivists and critical care nurses at a remote facility miles away from the critical patient's bedside providing constant surveillance with monitors that provide real-time labs, H&P/consults, VS and two-way radio/one way video of the pateint at the bedside. If an emergency occurs, the intensivist can access the data, see the patient and speak with the nurse at the bedside and give orders while waiting for the on-site intensivist/other md to arrive. Any thoughts on this?

[JiffyGriff]

I attended the national student nurse association midyear career planning conference late 2005 and the nurse that was there to represent the AACN mentioned breifly during a panel seminar that they were starting to implement this and that they were gaining great results from it. I still think though that there needs to be a clear delineation that this will NOT replace bedside care, and it cannot start assuming the mentality that looking at numbers from monitors and labs can replace looking at the "patient" and their response. I can see an eICU sitting there looking at their numbers and calling a code or something when there's nothing wrong with the patient themselves, just a bad reading on a monitor. I don't know much about the process and how it works now though.......maybe someone could educate me. Hopefully this isn't heading toward complete automated care through computers and robotics. I can see it now; the information sign at the receptionist desk reads........."our robots are highly skilled and never mess up; they will anticipate emergencies faster and with greater accuracy than humans; and they never smart off, you can cuss them out if you want, they will smile at you." The fine print at the bottom of the page reads; "This is in an ideal situation and in the rare event of a power failure this hospital assumes no legal responsibility for your death; we do however have backup generators just in case." :chuckle No seriously though, I think it is a great idea..........to "supplement" the care we already provide.