Issues in Clinical Monitoring
Authors:
Steven M. Zimmerman, Ph.D., Professor of Quality and Systems Management University of South Alabama Published: Computers in Industrial Engineering Vol. 31, No 1/2, pp 451-454, 1996
Steven Ringer, M.D. Director of New Born Services, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Significance: Physicians sometimes discount the value of vital sign data because current sampling and recording practice provide data that does little to help in the decision-making process. Caregivers observe and record vital sign data once an hour, in between they use the built-in monitor alarms to indicate changes. Physicians use global limits that are often based on value judgements made prior to the technology currently being used. This paper investigates two monitors, their similarities, differences, and the importance of these differences on making clinical decisions. The BiomedQC method was used to analysis the data from the two monitors.
