Wifi Revolution

Welch Allyn, a manufacturer of frontline medical products and solutions, has launched the Spot Vital Signs LXi with wireless data transfer. With this launch Welch claims to be  the first company to offer wireless vital signs transmission capabilities from the bedside.

 

The Spot Vital Signs LXi is popular as the industry’s fastest multi-parameter spot-check device. The product now offers the fastest way to send patient information to electronic health records (EHRs.) Using Welch Allyn Connex Data Management System technology, a barcode scanner, and a wireless radio the device captures and transfers patient vital signs quickly, easily and accurately to a wide variety of EHRs. This provides a simple workflow solution in low-acuity hospital settings.

 

Dave Perkins, vital signs business manager at Welch Allyn, observed that the speed of the Spot Vital Signs LXi revolutionized vital signs capture. Thanks to the industry’s first wireless bedside component, hospital caregivers can deliver optimal care more accurately and efficiently than ever before.

 

Perkins pointed out in a statement that today, providers don’t have time to search for multiple pieces of equipment to capture and transfer vitals. Because the addition of wireless capabilities to this device dramatically reduces the amount of time it takes to take and document vital signs, it gives providers more time to spend with their patients.

 

Welch Allyn explains that the Spot Vital Signs LXi with wireless data transfer automates the capture of basic vital signs. The Connex Data Management System sends the results directly into the facility’s EHR system. Connex also boasts a range of barcode driven workflows, which allows for quick and accurate patient and clinician identification.

 

Meg Meccariello is a clinical lab coordinator at St. Joseph's College of Nursing and lead researcher of a Connex data management trial at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Syracuse, New York. She indicated that with immediate access to patient data, nurses can communicate quickly with staff members and make faster decisions.

 

Meccariello said that clinicians require to react quickly to changes in patients’ conditions and get access to current patient data from anywhere on the hospital’s network. By working without paper, mistakes or delay, automated vital signs documentation can help hospitals streamline workflow and improve patient care.

 

The 802.11b wireless radio can attach to the Welch Allyn’s Spot Vital Signs LXi either as a wall mount or on a mobile stand. The company’s technicians will then provide on-site setup to ensure that it runs on the hospital's network. Welch Allyn informs that the upgrade to the wireless device requires a new version of firmware and is currently offered for hospitals in the U.S. and Canada. Also, an 802.11g wireless radio will be released later this year.

 

Perkins further explained that the Spot Vital Signs LXi with wireless data transfer allows nurses to capture vital signs with minimal changes to their workflow. It also helps ensure fast and accurate documentation enabling all clinicians to access the latest data. Providers can thus quickly notice those changes in vitals that indicate important changes to patient health.

 

“Simply put, the wireless Spot Vital Signs LXi and Connex can help deliver some of the promise of IT, where documentation is more accurate and actually frees up some of the clinician's valuable time,” he added.

 

Welch Allyn is a global manufacturer of medical diagnostic equipment and a complete range of digital and connected solutions.

 

 

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