Nursing Open Journal Article Reports that Leaf Patient Monitoring System Significantly Increases Adherence to Turning Protocols
PLEASANTON, Calif., Nov. 7, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- An article in the latest issue of Nursing Open, a peer-reviewed journal, reports that the Leaf Patient Monitoring System helps to improve caregiver adherence with hospital patient turn protocols and can improve staff efficiency.
Turn protocols are critical to reducing the incidence of hospital-acquired pressure injuries, one of the most common and preventable hospital-acquired conditions, affecting up to 10 percent of U.S. hospital patients and adding $11 billion to annual U.S. healthcare costs.
The Nursing Open article, entitled "Assessing the effect of continual position monitoring on patient turning," reports on the first study to test the impact of a continual position monitoring system on patient care. It used the wireless Leaf system to monitor nearly 8,000 hours of patient movement. During the study, turn protocol adherence rose from a baseline of 64 percent to 98 percent and variability in turn protocol adherence by shift and time of day was significantly reduced. A subset of the study, patients in isolation, showed more dramatic improvement: Adherence rose from a baseline of 48 percent to 99 percent.
The article also suggests the Leaf system can improve nursing productivity.
"The system continually tracks patient movement, [so] credit is given for adequate patient self-turns," wrote researchers from El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, Calif., where the study was done. "Thus [it] may prevent unnecessary work and patient disruptions and improve staff efficiency."
The study was authored by Suann Cirigliano Schutt, MSN, RN-BC, CEP; Christine Tarver, DNP, RN, CNS, NEA-BC, and Dr. Michelle Pezzani. They analyzed data from 138 patients.
"We found the Leaf system helps to improve patient care because it identifies patients who are self-turning, as well as those who need assistance," said Schutt. "Enhanced understanding of patient movement will lead to benefits in patient safety, the prevention of falls and pressure injuries and knowing when to avoid disturbing patients who do not need to be turned."
Pressure injuries occur when pressure constricts blood flow to the skin over a bony region, eventually leading to tissue death. They typically develop in immobile patients, and are associated with painful complications, prolonged hospital stays and even death.
The Leaf system advances pressure injury prevention by electronically monitoring patients' mobility and automatically documenting their progress along a prescribed mobility protocol. The system tracks movement and activity in bed-bound, chair-bound, or ambulatory patients and notifies nursing staff when individual patients need repositioning assistance.
About El Camino Hospital
El Camino Hospital is an acute-care, 443-bed, nonprofit and locally governed organization with campuses in Mountain View and Los Gatos, California. Key medical specialties include cancer, heart and vascular, men's health, mental health and addictions, neuroscience, orthopedic and spine, senior health, urology, and women's health. The hospital is recognized as a national leader in the use of health information technology and wireless communications, and has been awarded the Gold Seal of Approval from The Joint Commission as a Primary Stroke Center as well as three consecutive ANCC Magnet Recognitions for Nursing Care. To learn more, visit www.elcaminohospital.org.
About Leaf Healthcare, Inc.
Leaf Healthcare creates wireless patient monitoring solutions for healthcare providers seeking efficient, cost effective ways to improve patient safety and clinical outcomes. Its patient monitoring system wirelessly monitors patient position and movement and uses that data to automate and document mobility protocols for patients. The company will incorporate more monitoring features and capabilities into its technology platform, enabling more improvements to patient safety, clinical efficiency and patient outcomes. To learn more, visit www.leafhealthcare.com.
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Leaf Healthcare
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SOURCE Leaf Healthcare
