Jason Bourge

The Excel Medical system records all alarm histories which can be printed. The mVisum system takes it one step further and allows the user to actually see how the alarm was handled (i.e., when it was generated, when it was acknowledged, if it was escalated to another nurse or nurses because the primary recipent didn't respond, etc.) All of this data can be downloaded into a variety of formats (such as a Microsoft Excel sheet) for printing. Of course it is also stored electronically for retrieval at any point in time.

with regard to excel medical electronics and their bedmaster system, you can also now connect the mvisum alert system into the patient monitor network through bedmaster to allow transmission of alarms to mobile devices like smartphones (http://www.mvisum.com/mvisumalert.php). the system sends alarm details, waveforms and even a live stream of the monitor that is viewed remotely on mobile devices. the whole system is configurable to existing workflow. i know of a few hospitals who have moved to this system and are very happy. in fact they feel that it has improved their ability to react to critical events. might be worth looking into.

the whole issue of monitoring alarms at the bedside, central station or a "war room" manned by techs staring at screens is a difficult one whether your unit is small or large. fortunately technology is improving and can be applied inexpensively to your situation. check out one such solution from mvisum (http://www.mvisum.com/mvisumalert.php) which allows alarm details, waveforms and even a live stream of the monitor to be viewed remotely on mobile devices like smartphones. the whole system is configurable to existing workflow. i know of a few hospitals who have moved to this system and are very happy. in fact they feel that it has improved their ability to react to critical events. there are other systems out there that send out "text" alerts but it seems like this system gives tremendous flexibility and i haven't seen any other than this one that includes waveforms.

The whole issue of monitoring alarms at the bedside, central station or a "war room" manned by techs staring at screens is a difficult one. Fortunately technology is improving. Check out one such solution from mVisum (http://www.mvisum.com/mvisumalert.php) which allows alarm details, waveforms and even a live stream of the monitor to be viewed remotely on mobile devices like smartphones. The whole system is configurable to existing workflow. I know of a few hospitals who have moved to this system and are very happy. In fact they feel that it has improved their ability to react to critical events.