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VOL 8, NO. 123 FRONT PAGE
6-28-2004
CSI - AMW management system may aid in nursing shortage.
By Holland Johnson
Medical Device Daily Assoicate Managing Editor
At a time when the nursing shortage is threatening the fabric of the U.S. healthcare system, any technological advances that can allow those in that profession to focus more of their time on actual patient care are not only a great help but also a growing necessity.
Enter Computerized Screening Inc. (CSI; Sparks, Nevada, a privately held blood pressure developer, which has undertaken a strategic partnership with AutoMedicWorks (AMW; Sarasota, Florida) to develop a comprehensive web-based healthcare management system.
Called the Practice Automation Solution, the system will add CSI's Health Station, a tool for preventive health screening and maintenance, to AMW's practice automation solutions for maximizing operating efficiencies and reducing operating costs in physicians' offices.
With the focus on enhancing the quality of patient care, the customized program features Health Stations as the primary point of service for patients. Following the initial launch of the program in cardiology offices, the partnering of AMW's technology with CSI is ultimately slated for expansion to other medical specialties, as well as general medicine and hospital settings.
'Our partnership with AMW is an ideal way to bring the benefits of the Health Station directly to consumers, via the physician's office,' said Charles Bluth, founder and chief executive officer of CSI. 'We are pleased to be able to help physicians maximize operating efficiencies, as they will be better able to focus on the primary goal of enhanced patient care.'
CSI's measurement methodology is designed to significantly reduce the risk of medical errors, which greatly enhances the quality of care received. The Health Station, equipped with a secure Personal medical Record (PMR) feature, will communicate test results to AMW's web-based Electronic Medical Record (EMR) for simple recording and rapid physician reference.
The Health Station's ability to store and transmit PMRs significantly enhances practice efficiency by reducing paperwork and enabling nurses to focus on the most important aspect of their job, patient care. AMW's web-based practice automation software allows a doctor at the point and time of service to schedule, order, document visits, diagnose patients, post charges and transmit results while automatically ensuring compliance and securing authorization.
'In the context of the AMW system, CSI's Health Station will readily enable physician practices to achieve their goal of efficient, cost-effective operations, with enhanced patient care,' as Gene Myers, MD, founder of AMW. 'Automating the vital-sign tracking process streamlines operations, as it allows nursing staff to focus on patient care as opposed to administration. We are confident that patient vital-sign testing will be precise due to the renowned accuracy of the Health Station.'
According to Bob Sullivan, executive vice president of CSI, the impetus for the agreement between the two companies most likely originated with his company. 'They saw at the trade show,' he told Medical Device Daily, and when AMW saw what the Health Station was capable of doing, company officials realized that 'it gave them a platform to start thinking and working on [immediately].'
Sullivan said that Myers had already developed some software that allowed his system to integrate with CSI's. Once Myers sat down and talked with CSI representatives, Sullivan said he realized that 'we had already done probably 90% of what he was looking for' for the road he was going down. In essence, he said, it was much easier for Myers to incorporate CSI technology into his system than trying to put it together himself. 'Over the last six or eight years,' Sullivan notes, 'we spent $15 million developing these products; it's not something that someone can just go and do really quickly.'
Patented in 2001, CSI's monitoring technology uses all three accepted, non-invasive measurement techniques-auscultatory (sound), oscillometric (pressure) and pattern identification, based on a 10-year Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts) study. The system analyzes 6,500 samples to determine a single blood pressure result. Additional benefits of CSI's Health Station include a weight assessment tool, wheelchair accessibility, a complete drug encyclopedia, and interactive health record management. Heart rate testing, fitness evaluations and body mass index determinations also are available. For a more complete initial patient evaluation, additional non-invasive vital sign testing and monitoring applications are being added to the Health Station, including pulse oximetry and temperature.
Sullivan said that when patients come into Myers' clinic, they have a magnetic card issued by CSI that positively identifies them in compliance with HIPPA regulations. The patient then goes through a battery of self-administered tests prescribes by the doctor.
'It's a full multi-media system with a touch screen. You've got video capabilities, audio capabilities it can be hooked up to the Internet [and] it can do video conferencing,' Sullivan said. 'We've got just a plethora of options that can be added.'
The base price of the system is around $6,995. Customers them request the add-on components that they wish. 'Any non-invasive device can be integrated,' Sullivan noted. He said that if a customer were to incorporate every add-on that his company offers at this time, the system would cost around $15,000. In addition to the individual components. CSI collaborates with individual companies to personalize the system to run with a desired software package.
Most of the components of the CSI system are already 'grand fathered in' by the FDA. However, Sullivan said that the company is now applying for a 510(k) clearance for the entire system, citing it as a 'significant advancement' to the existing technology on the market. He also noted that the company is quickly becoming international and needs to get CE marking. 'We decided to go for the 510(k) then go for CE, so hopefully, all of that will be done this year.'
Myers told Sullivan he was saving roughly $60,000 a year by using the new system, since he didn't have to hire a new nurse to take vital signs.
According to Sullivan there are two major benefits to this comprehensive system: 'One, making the shortage of nurses not quite so impactful and two, making a nurses' practice more enjoyable and rewarding.'
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