University Hospitals Expands Continuous Patient Monitoring Technology System-Wide

CLEVELAND - University Hospitals is announcing the expansion of remote patient monitoring capabilities with the goals of enhancing patient safety, improving the patient experience, and increasing operational efficiencies. UH is among the first health systems in the nation to deploy Masimo Radius VSM continuous monitoring, wirelessly connected to Masimo Patient SafetyNet for centralized remote patient surveillance, for generally admitted pediatric and adult patients across the entire system.

Remote patient monitoring gained popularity at hospitals nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way to safely discharge potentially contagious patients while watching their vital signs at home, but its benefits have carried on years later. UH was at the forefront of this new technology pre-pandemic with a small group of admitted patients as part of a trial, but in 2020, expanded its use to monitor discharged patients as well, using Masimo SafetyNet.

Now, 1,500 beds at UH hospitals across Northeast Ohio will be equipped with Masimo Radius VSM (vital signs monitor), a wearable device that electronically transmits health data to a patient's care team via their electronic health record and Masimo Patient SafetyNet. The Radius VSM unit is completely unattached and allows patients to move freely while tracking data points like temperature, heart rate, oxygen levels, blood pressure, and more.

"Our nurses and care teams will use this technology to support their expertise. They are our patients' lifeline and ultimately at the helm of their care," said Michelle D. Hereford, MSHA, RN, FACHE, Chief Nursing Executive; Ethel Morikis Endowed Chair in Nursing Leadership; and Jennifer Carpenter, DNP, RN, UH Chief Nursing Informatics Officer and Chief Nursing Officer, UH Rainbow Babies & Children's and UH MacDonald Women's Hospitals. "This approach enhances safety because patients are monitored even when medical professionals are not in the room. It also gives patients a better experience with more rest, since some health information can be obtained without even approaching the bedside."

UH is expanding this type of monitoring to most standard level of care, generally admitted patients. Since intensive care patients are already continuously monitored, this means essentially all UH in-patients will now be observed remotely.

A leader in implementing novel medical approaches, UH housed the first Medical/Surgical unit in the nation to deploy Masimo's ECG technology along with Radius VSM monitoring. UH was also first in the world to adopt Masimo's digital e-waveform capture which electronically uploads to a patient's digital file, eliminating the need for tedious paper printing and filing.

"The adoption of this technology has many benefits not just for patients and nurses, but for our entire UH staff," said Hereford. "These include streamlining operations for our purchasing and supply chain teams, as well as simplifying cleaning and maintenance plans for our environmental services and clinical engineering teams."

But the ultimate goal is greater safety and better healing for patients.

"Patients are better when they are moving. UH has a 'Move to Heal' philosophy," said Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD, FCCM, UH Chief Quality and Clinical Transformation Officer, and Veale Distinguished Chair in Leadership and Clinical Transformation. "Patients heal better when they're not confined and because the equipment is not anchored to a wall-mounted or rolling stand, patients can get up and move more freely leading to faster healing."

Katie Szyman, CEO of Masimo, said, "We are honored to support University Hospitals' efforts to provide the best possible care for their patients. Continuous monitoring throughout the hospital, including for general floor patients, offers a plethora of benefits, and Radius VSM adds freedom of movement to that list. UH has long been at the forefront of piloting and implementing next-generation medical technologies, and we're proud that Patient SafetyNet, SafetyNet, and now Radius VSM, as well as many other Masimo solutions, are among them. Masimo's mission is for our innovations to empower clinicians to transform patient care, and we look forward to continuing our longstanding relationship with UH doing exactly that."

UH is applying a rolling implementation of Masimo Radius VSM technology, learning best practices along the way. System leaders expect it to be LIVE at all units system-wide by fall 2026.