​​What It Is​

The Medical Devices Integration (MDI) solution is a software-based vendor-neutral solution that automatically collects and integrates patients' vital signs data generated from various medical devices to the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system wirelessly.​​

​By seamlessly transferring data from monitoring devices to the EMR system, the MDI helps to eliminate healthcare staff's time taken to manually record and input readings into the EMR. This improves users' workflows and productivity, as well as bet​ter accuracy and timeliness of patient information in the EMR.

Background

How It Works  

Nurses scan the patient's barcoded wristband, to identify and verify the correct patient before taking his/her vital signs.  The nurses then verify both the patient's name and identification number (NRIC) and the corresponding readings before confirming the entry in the MDI.  This barcode scanning and validation checks are built into the MDI solution to ensure completeness and accuracy of patient vital signs readings before they ​are interfaced directly to the right patient records in the EMR. This data collected is integrated from various medical devices to the EMR system.

    

The solution deploys a middleware to communicate with the EMR using HL7 messages centrally, while using many protocols to talk to the hospital devices. It runs on standard computing platforms and supports existing computers and workstations.

Benefits

For Healthcare Staff​
The automation of data transcription and capturing by MDI saves CGH nurses an aggregate total of 43 hours a day (or 15,695 hours a year) which were previously spent on transcribing and charting vital signs manually.  The saved time will give nurses more time to carry out more value-adding nursing tasks for better patient care (e.g. patient education).

The previous manual processes in vital sign charting are now fully automated, improving timeliness and accuracy of patient data in the EMR system for better diagnosis and treatment plans. Manual charting, data entry and transcription errors are also eliminated with the help of the MDI solution.

For Patients
The MDI system can enhance Patient Safety by ensuring the following 3 Rights:

1. Right Patient – Patient barcode wrist tag is authenticated to verify readings taken from the right patient.

2. Right Data –Patients' vital signs readings are first displayed on the tablet, and require nurses' verification and confirmation before saving in EMR.

3. Right Time – Automated interface ensures readings are taken at pre-defined intervals and readily available in the EMR, without delay.

Additional Information

Video