Remote E-ICU monitoring services have been a revelation in critical care. The advent of electronic telemonitoring in intensive care units is achieving better cost-efficiency. More importantly, E-ICU care is also helping to save more lives. In one NIH report, E-ICU solutions were able to reduce mortality rates quite significantly for facilities that employed the technology. Compared to a 20% mortality prior to its implementation to a new rate of 5.4% after, remote E-ICU services were able to lower the relative mortality rate by about 73%. Its potential and life-saving benefits are clear for all to see. In this article, we’ll dive even deeper to uncover the links between lower mortality rates and E-ICU programs.
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Success stories of E-ICU & lower mortality over the years
Many hospitals and practices have embraced tele-ICU right from the turn of the century. Here’s a look at how some US hospitals have achieved mortality reduction, as well as decreased length of stays, with E-ICUs:
- The University of Pennsylvania Health System: The implementation of E-ICUs brought down mortality by 63% while lowering the length of stays in the ICUs by about 10%
- Sutter Health in California: Within two-and-a-half years of rolling out their E-ICU program, the mortality rate declined from 40% to just shy of 19%. This translated to 56 lives saved in that period
- Saint Luke’s Health System: The hospital already had a commendation mortality of 1%, but they were able to lower it even further to 0.68% with remote E-ICU services. Furthermore, the care facility was able to bring the length of stay down to 0.84 from 1.09 days previously
- Sentara Healthcare in Virginia: After just 12 months of implementing E-ICU solutions, the practice was able to lower the mortality rate by over 26%. Additionally, they also reduced the length of stay from 4.8 to 5.6 days
- John Hopkins Medicine: This hospital is one of the earliest adopters of E-ICUs, having implemented its program in the early 2000s. The facility has since then managed to lower the length of stays and ICU mortality rates by 30% and 46% respectively.
Moreover, close to 8 in 10 of surveyed resident intensivists at Christiana Care Health System in Delaware associated tele-ICU with improved patient safety. On the other hand, 209 lives were saved in one year at the University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center, thanks to the intervention of E-ICU solutions.
Why E-ICUs lower the rate of mortality in ICUs
As we’ve proved so far, the numbers do back it up that E-ICU services lower mortality rates and ICU lengths of stay. But just how do these programs make these outcomes possible? Here’s a look at how E-ICUs are achieving more positive health outcomes.
- Lower chances of HAI for critical care patients with E-ICU
Healthcare-acquired infections, or HAI, are another worry for patients with lengthy stays in the ICU. The more time a patient spends in the care facility, the greater the exposure to other infections in the healthcare environment.
HAIs can increase mortality rates in ICUs quite significantly. According to the American CDC, HAIs are a huge concern that we should not sweep under the rug. They are responsible for close to 100,000 fatalities annually, and over 1.7 million infections in total.
E-ICUs lower the risk of critically ill patients acquiring HAIs primarily in two ways. First, these services reduce in-person interactions between care coordinators and their patients, thus minimizing opportunities for care staff to pass off infections to the patient. Moreover, E-ICUs reduce lengths of stay for patients quite significantly and have also been found to lower the risk of rehospitalization by 64%, particularly in cardiac patients. This also means reduced exposure to HAIs.
- E-ICUs are filling intensivist gaps to boost ICU survival
The demand for critical care has only soared in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. But, the relative infusion of new critical care professionals has not risen to meet the surging needs. The result has been a significant shortage of intensivists, with over 26 states in America battling with ICU staff deficiencies.
This shortage can increase mortality rates, with one report by the American Board of Family Medicine revealing that acute doctor shortages cut down life expectancy by over 310 days.
Remote patient monitoring services are helping short-staffed ICUs, more so in rural areas, to keep up. They are expanding ICU coverage with RPM technology, to enable the provision of trade intensivists who can serve multiple patients across countless hospitals.
A while ago, one company implemented an E-ICU program in Illinois, and realized the following changes:
- 26% reduction in mortality
- 30% reduction in ICU length of stays
- Better patient satisfaction
Intensivist training can be rigorous and time-consuming hence the shortage. E-ICU services improve access to experienced intensivists, filling gaps across healthcare facilities that are in dire need and lowering mortality.
- E-ICU’s nonstop monitoring ensures prompt intervention
Delays in intensivist care can also raise the risk of death in the ICU. With workflows stretched thin by demand and other challenges getting in the way, ICU care is not always forthcoming or timely.
Remote E-ICU services work to ensure better connectivity to patients as well as their data all day, every day. This seamless interconnectivity is made possible by cutting-edge technology that provides insights in near-real time.
Moreover, local care teams can lean on a team of remote intensivists to watch over the patient, while the system automatically generates instant alerts as soon as clinical deterioration begins to take root. Critical care teams can therefore make interventions in the nick of time, thus lowering the risk of mortality even further.
Are E-ICUs the magic bullet for ICU mortality?
Electronic intensive care units are certainly key in reducing ICU mortality. Remote monitoring ICU services ensure better connectivity to patient vitals at any time of day and fill intensivist shortages while lowering the risks of HAIs. That said, E-ICUs alone cannot fix the state of our ICUs. There needs to be a concerted effort by the government and other stakeholders, more so in terms of providing resources to hospitals, infrastructural development, and policy interventions. But E-ICU services are certainly a step in the right direction. Visit the Techindia website for more details on top-tier E-ICU solutions