Looking for some opinions...

[YourPittDanceTeam]

On something that I experienced yesterday at one of our local hospital systems, not named UPMC.
My daughter was admitted via the ER because of abdominal pain. The issue was diagnosed and she was admitted to the hospital and had surgery earlier today. Thankfully everything went well and she should be D/C tomorrow.
The "issue" is this...in the corner of her room is a camera. This camera I was told is not on all of the time and can only be used with the consent of the patient. The camera points towards the ceiling and then towards the patient lying in bed when consent is given. The process is called "Digital Nurse" Used to help with the admission and D/C process.
For me, I think it is a terrible idea that is certainly going to have issues if it is used incorrectly. I mean, if someone can hack into your baby camera from outside your home, what is to say that someone from outside the hospital can't hack into a camera in patients room.
What do you guys think?

 

[USN_Panther]

On something that I experienced yesterday at one of our local hospital systems, not named UPMC.
My daughter was admitted via the ER because of abdominal pain. The issue was diagnosed and she was admitted to the hospital and had surgery earlier today. Thankfully everything went well and she should be D/C tomorrow.
The "issue" is this...in the corner of her room is a camera. This camera I was told is not on all of the time and can only be used with the consent of the patient. The camera points towards the ceiling and then towards the patient lying in bed when consent is given. The process is called "Digital Nurse" Used to help with the admission and D/C process.
For me, I think it is a terrible idea that is certainly going to have issues if it is used incorrectly. I mean, if someone can hack into your baby camera from outside your home, what is to say that someone from outside the hospital can't hack into a camera in patients room.
What do you guys think?

This is the new normal. It is a way to reduce nursing to patient staffing ratios. Some hospitals are using robots to stay in the room and tell patients to not get up out of bed without assistance etc.

 

[YourPittDanceTeam]

This is the new normal. It is a way to reduce nursing to patient staffing ratios. Some hospitals are using robots to stay in the room and tell patients to not get up out of bed without assistance etc.

No robots involved in this YET. There is a human being (a RN) talking to you. They see you via the camera, you see them via the television. I asked a couple of the RN's there what they thought and they thought it is a huge waste of money.

 

[Usuallyunusual-partdeux]

On something that I experienced yesterday at one of our local hospital systems, not named UPMC.
My daughter was admitted via the ER because of abdominal pain. The issue was diagnosed and she was admitted to the hospital and had surgery earlier today. Thankfully everything went well and she should be D/C tomorrow.
The "issue" is this...in the corner of her room is a camera. This camera I was told is not on all of the time and can only be used with the consent of the patient. The camera points towards the ceiling and then towards the patient lying in bed when consent is given. The process is called "Digital Nurse" Used to help with the admission and D/C process.
For me, I think it is a terrible idea that is certainly going to have issues if it is used incorrectly. I mean, if someone can hack into your baby camera from outside your home, what is to say that someone from outside the hospital can't hack into a camera in patients room.
What do you guys think?

Dude.....that is a sign of an increasingly strange and intrusive world. Most people nowadays live their entire life on the Internet and can't take a dump without going live to discuss it (hyperbole in case you didn't notice). Most people probably don't think it is a big deal.

 

[Upg bobcat]

There are nursing stations assigned to a unit of the hospital, right? And at those stations, I assume the nurses always had readouts of patients' vitals and if the nurses saw something concerning or unusual, they would go to the room to check on what is up. I assume incorporating modern camera technology is simply the next stage of that. Now instead of just having vitals, the nurse now also have a visual and can see what exactly is going on, instead of having to the leave the station and walk into the room if that is not necessary.

 

[pittmeister]

There are nursing stations assigned to a unit of the hospital, right? And at those stations, I assume the nurses always had readouts of patients' vitals and if the nurses saw something concerning or unusual, they would go to the room to check on what is up. I assume incorporating modern camera technology is simply the next stage of that. Now instead of just having vitals, the nurse now also have a visual and can see what exactly is going on, instead of having to the leave the station and walk into the room if that is not necessary.

This….

I had a carotid angioplasty (stent in the artery in the neck) I had to stay overnight. About 3 AM in the morning, three nurses came in and woke me up out of a sound sleep to tell me my pulse had dropped to 38. They put in some adrenaline in my I.V. bag to get my pulse back up to normal.

They were able to read my vital signs at the nurses station and acted accordingly. This is much more efficient. Back in the olden days, they would wake you up three times during the night and check your vitals.

 

[USN_Panther]

This….

I had a carotid angioplasty (stent in the artery in the neck) I had to stay overnight. About 3 AM in the morning, three nurses came in and woke me up out of a sound sleep to tell me my pulse had dropped to 38. They put in some adrenaline in my I.V. bag to get my pulse back up to normal.

They were able to read my vital signs at the nurses station and acted accordingly. This is much more efficient. Back in the olden days, they would wake you up three times during the night and check your vitals.

You would have been in some kind of high dependency unit/step down unit where you are constantly monitored. Regular ward beds are not monitored in this way, and vital signs taken intermittently.

These cameras and robots are there to watch for confused patients getting out of bed and wandering off or falling.

 

[YourPittDanceTeam]

This….

I had a carotid angioplasty (stent in the artery in the neck) I had to stay overnight. About 3 AM in the morning, three nurses came in and woke me up out of a sound sleep to tell me my pulse had dropped to 38. They put in some adrenaline in my I.V. bag to get my pulse back up to normal.

They were able to read my vital signs at the nurses station and acted accordingly. This is much more efficient. Back in the olden days, they would wake you up three times during the night and check your vitals.

You were probably placed into a "specialized unit" such as the ICU, TCU or some type of Cardiac unit so they could monitor your vital signs, etc... . This is just a regular med-surg floor. There is no way that a RN looking at you through a camera is going to be able to accurately assess a patient's status.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

you want a 5 star luxury stay at your local hospital with a staff at your service or do you want lower healthcare costs?


It's one or the other.. you cant have both.

 

[HailtoPitt]

I'll just say that I can see some good uses of a nurse camera. My dad had dementia and spent some time in the hospital last year. He would try to get up, even though his body struggled to support himself. I know he fell at least once, so having some system there where the nurses could see him trying to get up would be good to have, I would think

 

[pittdan77]

This is the new normal. It is a way to reduce nursing to patient staffing ratios. Some hospitals are using robots to stay in the room and tell patients to not get up out of bed without assistance etc.

Not new at all. Many hospitals have been doing this for a while now where rooms have beds that aren't easily viewed from the hallway or that are further away from the nurses station.

 

[King Of All Message Boards]

I'll just say that I can see some good uses of a nurse camera. My dad had dementia and spent some time in the hospital last year. He would try to get up, even though his body struggled to support himself. I know he fell at least once, so having some system there where the nurses could see him trying to get up would be good to have, I would think

If they’re monitored and paid attention to, yes. But they already have those alarms that they put underneath patients and from what I’ve seen not enough attention is paid to those.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

im no healthcare expert but im honestly surprised there arent cameras in all ER rooms, it makes a ton of sense to have this. i am sure there are privacy issues with consent but if you are in an ER room, are you really expecting privacy from the hospital personnel?


Only thing i can think of is hipaa compliance but again, this isnt going out on a streaming service, only hospital personnel have access to the cameras, same personnel who has access to your medical records, history, etc. without the cameras.

I'd go as far to say that they should have TV monitors in hospital rooms. Again, this isnt your private hotel room. you are there for a reason, not a vacation. Let the patient know beforehand but absolutely should an inpatient hospital room be monitored by nursing and physician staff.. For countless reasons

 

[YourPittDanceTeam]

Not new at all. Many hospitals have been doing this for a while now where rooms have beds that aren't easily viewed from the hallway or that are further away from the nurses station.

I would just to point out that the RN's that I spoke to at this hospital, said it just began about 6 weeks ago and they weren't thrilled about it. Also, my daughter's room was right in front of the nurse's station.

 

[pittdan77]

I would just to point out that the RN's that I spoke to at this hospital, said it just began about 6 weeks ago and they weren't thrilled about it. Also, my daughter's room was right in front of the nurse's station.

Might just be that hospital. Altoona Hospital has had monitored rooms for a while. Really think this is just an excuse to cut staff or keep it at minimal levels that would otherwise be considered dangerous. Nurses are in a tough spot.

 

[Zeldas Open Roof]

Might just be that hospital. Altoona Hospital has had monitored rooms for a while. Really think this is just an excuse to cut staff or keep it at minimal levels that would otherwise be considered dangerous. Nurses are in a tough spot.

yeah, i feel like this is a thousand times easier and more efficient than having rns making their rounds on the floor.. again, it seems like an absolute no brainer..

not sure how i feel about your expected privacy while in a hospital room. especially something like in the ER. maybe i could see an issue if you are admitted and in a room for a few days and there are cameras monitoring your every move.

i mean you are there for awhile and wifey comes to visit you and well things get a little steamy, that could be a bit awkward i guess.

 

[pittdan77]

yeah, i feel like this is a thousand times easier and more efficient than having rns making their rounds on the floor.. again, it seems like an absolute no brainer..

not sure how i feel about your expected privacy while in a hospital room. especially something like in the ER. maybe i could see an issue if you are admitted and in a room for a few days and there are cameras monitoring your every move.

i mean you are there for awhile and wifey comes to visit you and well things get a little steamy, that could be a bit awkward i guess.

It doesn't have anything to do with efficiencies. It's merely cost reduction. The notion that a nurse can do their job effectively by just reacting to what they see on a monitor pretty much ignores patient safety.

And I don't know that there is such a thing as privacy in a hospital. I'm pretty sure that even the cleaning lady has seen unspeakable horrors.