Central Monitoring System

[AlaskaKat]

My small community hospital is needing to upgrade our central monitoring system, and I am trying to gather some data. What brand of fetal monitors do you use? Do they have maternal vital sign and pulse ox capabilities? What central monitoring system so you use? Is it user friendly? Do you use it for charting or just for surveillance?? Do you like it? Would you recommend it? Does anybody have fetal telemetry capability as in cordless transducers?? Do they really work in a jacuzzi or does the water and or jets mess up the signal? Any other info would be much appreciated!

[rUmad2]

I recently sat through vendor presentations from Phillips Medical and GE Medical (who was corometrics.) Go with who will provide best service. There were 5 hospitals at this presentation and the consensus was Phillips product was less busy and more user friendly. The COOLEST thing was during labor, the Phillips product entered all the assessment findings. The nurse reviewed them and clicks either "agrees" or "disagrees" or can simply change the finding or two she doesn't agree with. Like any other product, the nurse must be careful not to depend completely on the electronic assessment.

Both products automatically enter VS and anything entered via keyboard. Both products allow you to view another patient's strip at another patient's bedside if necessary.

My hospital is associated with a very large, level III facility and their preference is Phillips. My hospital is a small rural hospital, too.

Good luck!

Beth from Illinois

[L&D_RN_OH]

We use Corometrics. It does have VS and oulse ox capability. We also have a telemetry unit, but it can't be used in the jacuzzi. The same toco and US are used. They are just plugged into the telemetry unit which can then be carried. Our central unit is called Watchchild. We use it for surveillance and charting. It's nice having it all computerized, but makes it harder to transition to PP charting which is paper.

[rUmad2]

it's my understanding Watchchild isn't

FDA approved for some reason. All monitoring systems have Sa02, b/p

capabilities. You can also get them with maternal ecg.

Truly, I'm not a sales rep for either company! I've just been looking into

updating our system, too!

Phillips has a new cableless toco and cardiotransducer that IS jacuzzi safe.

They look just like the regular equipment with cables. You can program in

which monitor that unit is for so the patient can walk all over. Also, they

don't wear the little antenna thing...just the two round pieces..As years

go by, I think our unit will be replacing our corometric monitors with

Phillips--and probably the cableless system.

All system have a pp/nb documentation program, too. Of course, each phase

costs $$. Phillips appears to have a better program for keeping your

hardware updated. We have GE Medical surveillance only at this time. If you buy the entire documentation program, when thechart is to be closed, all the areas that are JACHO required pop-up and tell you what needs

to be finished. Can you believe that?? Also, all the mom's info templates

over to the baby. AND, Phillips has a program that will replace your

handwritten delivery logbook. Both programs can start prenatally and go

through pp discharge.

Both companies have ways you can start with surveillance only and build up.

Good luck!

Beth from Illinois

[L&D_RN_OH]

it's my understanding Watchchild isn't

FDA approved for some reason.

Hmm, that's interesting. Apparently they are fine by JCAHO though since we've had it for years.

Phillips has a new cableless toco and cardiotransducer that IS jacuzzi safe.

If you buy the entire documentation program, when thechart is to be closed, all the areas that are JACHO required pop-up and tell you what needs

to be finished. Can you believe that?? Also, all the mom's info templates

over to the baby.

That sounds pretty neat. Maybe someday we will upgrade, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.

You know how hospital budgeting works.