There are some duties best performed with the effect that only a human can have — like patient checkups, diagnosis delivery, or even driving an ambulance, to name a few. However, as technology continues to advance, automation by means of computers can be beneficial for expediting many aspects of the healthcare industry. Things like tracking storage unit temperatures, monitoring environmental conditions, and even keeping an eye on fundamental building systems can be automated, which can, in turn, relieve staff burden and return focus to the tasks only a person can do.
An automated monitoring system can also be helpful for the many healthcare institutions across the nation that are experiencing staffing shortages due to increased levels of burnout and compulsory vaccine mandates. The Primex OneVue Sense™ solution provides automatic data logging and environmental monitoring, which gives facility managers less tasks to assign and staff less tasks to complete.
The OneVue Sense portfolio includes several products that help protect valuable building assets, from medications to the rooms that house facility heating, ventilating, and air conditioning systems. OneVue Sense is an efficient, cost-effective solution that allows facility managers and staff to enhance building productivity by:
- Preventing Loss
By providing around-the-clock monitoring in as many areas as desired, as well as alerts via call, text, or email about out-of-range conditions, OneVue grants users access to data that includes:
- Refrigerator and Freezer Temperatures: With consistent, remote temperature monitoring, users will know if a storage unit is not operating properly. This knowledge can help avoid the costs and consequences resulting from ruined medications, vaccinations, or other assets, as well as cafeteria food and drinks — plus, you’ll also avoid spending time and money replacing lost stock. For example, one Milwaukee-area pharmacy would have saved tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of insulin, vaccines, and medications if they had the Primex OneVue solution installed, according to the pharmacy’s owner.
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Water Leaks: Water leak sensors can prevent leaks from turning into costly floods. As a single hospital bed generates between $255 and $365 before medical treatment according to a study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, detecting leaks before they turn into floods capable of shutting down entire sections of a hospital is a vital cost-saving measure. A variety of other problems could also occur:
- Damage to building infrastructure requires repairs and rebuilds, which are not only costly in regards to price but also in regards to the time lost for patient care during potentially long periods of reconstruction
- Time is taken away from patient care as impacted areas must be relocated, which puts patient safety at higher risk than is typical
- Patient satisfaction declines as a result of canceled or delayed appointments, which can then lower reimbursement rates due to lower HCAHPS scores
- MRI Chiller Data: MRI downtime can be costly. With OneVue Sense ChillCheck™, you will always know your MRI chiller’s flow and temperature levels, along with the ambient air temperature of the equipment room, so you can avoid extended downtime. You’ll also avoid delays in diagnosis caused by limited use of the MRI machine, ensuring patients receive treatment as soon as possible. As imaging services are said to account for up to 37% of hospitals’ profits, monitoring your MRI chiller to avoid downtime can be a crucial cost-saving measure.
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Temperature and Humidity in High-Care Areas: Monitoring air quality inside different areas of a hospital or health center can have a variety of benefits, like:
- Limiting the spread of infectious disease in the hospital and reducing hospital-acquired infections and the resulting costs — which total at least $28.4 billion each year across the U.S.
- Minimizing operating room downtime caused by improper temperature or humidity — especially important when operating rooms generate 70% of hospitals' revenue
- Controlling the spread of illness and bacteria that might escape from pressurized rooms and spread throughout a facility
All of these costly consequences can be prevented with solutions like cost-effective, automated temperature and humidity sensors and differential pressure sensors from the OneVue Sense portfolio.
- Saving Time
Logging temperatures manually can not only be monotonous, but it can also be time consuming. In addition, it can be difficult to remember to check temperatures on a routine basis with all the other responsibilities healthcare providers have going on at any given time. Even if staff are on top of it every time, it can take away from another task, like completing rounds or charting.
Instead of manually checking each sensor in every storage unit in your facility, all of the OneVue Sense devices report to the cloud-based OneVue® software (which stores your data for easy access), so you will have one point of access to check all of your sensors — from water leak to differential pressure and ambient air. Additionally, there’s no need to manually check your MRI chiller information either, as you are able to check flow and temperature from the ChillCheck app in addition to the OneVue web platform (but you’ll still be alerted early enough to take action should a problem occur).
- Avoiding Compliance Penalties
Along with automated monitoring, OneVue Sense offers on-demand report generation, so you’ll always have access to temperature logs for each storage unit, and therefore proof of reliable, 24/7 monitoring to ensure proper temperatures are being maintained. You will always be prepared for surprise audits and avoid fines related to improper storage conditions, as outlined by the Food and Drug Administration, as well as guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Automated monitoring can also come in handy for food storage, as compliance with U.S. Department of Agriculture food storage guidelines and state health department requirements are made easy with automated monitoring and tracking.
Automated data logging and environmental monitoring can have a multitude of positive effects on any healthcare facility. OneVue Sense is a cost-effective tool for improving operational efficiencies throughout the building. Avoid extraneous costs, fees, and fines, and take a couple of tasks off staff workload by relying on consistent automated monitoring to keep your staff, patients, and facility safe and compliant!
For more information about how to realize these benefits firsthand, contact us today.