Ascom Forges Strategic Distribution Partnership With GE Healthcare for Intensive Care Units

Ascom and GE Healthcare have announced a strategic distribution partnership in Europe of Digistat Patient Watch solution. Designed specifically for intensive care units (ICUs) and released by Ascom, this solution helps healthcare professionals gain instant visibility to patient status.
 
Based on Ascom’s connectivity, clinical workflow and mobility expertise, the Digistat Patient Watch solution provides clinicians throughout Europe with a solution to address the needs of ICUs. This partnership further expands the existing global relationship between GE and Ascom.
 
In traditional ICUs, each patient is wired to up to 10 pieces of medical equipment, from monitoring devices to ventilators or infusion pumps. These high-end technologies provide clinicians with critical information and alert them when staff intervention is required. But this can sometimes lead to alarm fatigue, with care givers being exposed to up to 1,000 alarms per shift,¹ even though up to 99 percent of those do not even require clinical intervention.²
 
The new alarm management solution called Digistat Patient Watch, collects data from a variety of devices connected to the patient providing a holistic view at the patient bedside level and at the ICU level. Clinicians gain visibility on patient status, highlighting alarms and warnings occurring on any connected device. This critical data can also be displayed on a handheld mobile device, such as the Ascom Myco 2, which is designed specifically for clinical staff. The benefits for healthcare professionals may include helping improve staff efficiency, supporting better organization of patient care and implementing procedures to reduce the number of alarms.
 
“Digistat Patient Watch helps clinicians leverage patient data to increase situational awareness and align priorities. It has the potential to change their practice and improve workflow efficiency,” said André Neu, head of platform solutions for Ascom.

“Digistat Patient Watch is an important addition to GE Healthcare’s portfolio of solutions for the Intensive Care, and we are delighted with this expanded collaboration with Ascom,” added Olivier Bosc, general manager of Life Care Solutions Europe at GE Healthcare.
 
Ascom is a global solutions provider focused on healthcare ICT and mobile workflow solutions. The vision of Ascom is to close digital information gaps allowing for the best possible decisions. Ascom’s mission is to provide mission-critical, real-time solutions for highly mobile, ad hoc, and time-sensitive environments. Ascom uses its product and solutions portfolio and software architecture capabilities to devise integration and mobilization solutions that provide smooth, complete and efficient workflows for healthcare as well as for industry and retail sectors. Ascom is headquartered in Baar (Switzerland), has subsidiaries in 15 countries and employs around 1,200 people worldwide. Ascom registered shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange in Zurich, Switzerland.

References
1. Alarm fatigue: impacts on patient safety, Ruskin KJ, Hueske-Kraus D. Curr Opin Anaesthesiol. 2015; 28: 685-690.
2. Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goal: Alarm Management |ECRI top 10 Health Technology Hazard