subject: How to Purchase a Patient Monitor [print this page] How to Purchase a Patient Monitor How to Purchase a Patient Monitor
How to Purchase a Patient Monitor
1. Systems can be divided into three groups based on acuity: low, medium, and high. These three categories represent the care settings and the types of patients to be monitored.
2. Low acuity monitors perform basic vital signs monitoring, and may be used for outpatient surgical applications with a low level of monitoring.
3. Medium acuity monitors are found in a variety of settings, including the emergency department, intermediate care unit, and general medical/surgical floors. These may be modular or configured with other add-on modules.
4. High acuity monitors are used in CCU and OR environments, or in post anesthesia care units. They may be modular or configured with other add-on modules.
5. Using a LAN based system, central-monitoring stations should display and control data from bedside monitors, in a way that a failure of any bedside monitor or central station display will not affect the performance of the entire system.
6. A monitor should be able to display data from another bedside monitor, including automatic display of alarm information.
7. The central stations should display waveforms, numeric and graphic displays, tabular displays, and calculations.
8. Users should select electrodes from a big selection that is available to them. They should test electrodes from multiple suppliers to ensure the best results for their particular monitor.
9. The facility's resources, expected and desired patient population, and current technology base - all of these should be considered when making a decision regarding purchasing. This decision should be part of a long-range strategic monitor acquisition and management plan. The purchasing process should start at least six to eight months ahead and consider the care area size and its architectural layout, staffing levels, and geographic proximity of patient assignments.
10. Monitors in critical care areas require these parameters: ECG, IBP, NIBP, SpO2, temperature, cardiac output, and ETCO2. All patient data should be available at a central station monitor.
11. Buyers should evaluate the alarms on a monitoring system before purchasing. Patient outcome can be affected if a monitoring system fails to alarm for a critical event.
12. A modular or a configured monitoring system may be used for routine OR procedures, which are shorter and less complex and usually require fewer monitored parameters than intensive procedures.
13. The capability of integration with the anesthesia monitoring equipment is necessary for monitors used in both intensive and routine OR procedures. This provides centralized alarm information.
