Monitoring, predicting and treating clinical episodes
Apparatus and methods are described, including apparatus for use with a plurality of clinicians. The apparatus includes a patient-monitoring system, including a plurality of clinical sensors, configured to detect physiological parameters of respective patients, and to generate respective sensor signals in response thereto. At least one output unit is configured to generate an output to clinicians who are caring for the patients, in response to the sensor signals. A monitoring system (a) analyzes clinician performance in responding to the output of the output unit, and (b) generates an indication of a performance level of the clinicians in response to the analyses. Other applications are also described.
1. Apparatus for use with a plurality of patients, the apparatus comprising:
(A) a plurality of sensors configured to detect physiological parameters of respective patients, and to generate respective sensor signals in response thereto;
(B) at least one output unit configured to generate an output to clinicians who are caring for the patients, in response to the sensor signals;
(C) a monitoring system configured to:
analyze clinician performance in responding to the output of the at least one output unit; and
generate an indication of a performance level of the clinicians in response to the analyzing of the clinician performance;
wherein the at least one output unit is configured to generate alerts in response to the sensor signals, and wherein the monitoring system is configured to analyze clinician performance by analyzing a response time of the clinicians to the generated alerts; and
(D) a location-sensing system configured to identify respective locations of a plurality of the clinicians, and to generate a location-sensing-system signal in response thereto,
wherein the monitoring system is configured to:
receive the location-sensing system signal,
determine that at least one of the clinicians has responded to the alert by analyzing the location-sensing system signal, and
analyze clinician performance in response thereto.
2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the monitoring system is further configured to receive the sensor signals.
3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the apparatus is for use with a plurality of resting surfaces, respective patients of the plurality of patients resting on respective resting surfaces of the plurality of resting surfaces, and wherein respective sensors of the plurality of sensors are configured to be coupled to respective resting surfaces of the plurality of resting surfaces.
4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the monitoring system is configured to measure the performance level of the clinicians by analyzing a number of alerts generated over a given period of time.
5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the monitoring system is configured to generate the indication of the performance level of the clinicians by measuring the performance level of the clinicians with respect to a standard performance level.
6. The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the monitoring system is configured to measure the performance level of the clinicians with respect to the standard performance level, by measuring the performance level of the clinicians with respect to an average historic performance level over a given time period.
7. The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the monitoring system is configured to communicate with at least one similar monitoring system that is configured to perform monitoring at at least one peer site, and wherein the monitoring system is configured to measure the performance level of the clinicians with respect to the standard performance level, by measuring the performance level of the clinicians with respect to a performance level of clinicians at the at least one peer site, the performance level of the clinicians at the at least one peer site being determined by the at least one similar monitoring system.
8. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the monitoring system is configured to receive an input from a clinician who is responding to an alert that is indicative of the clinician having responded to the alert, and to analyze clinician performance in response thereto.
9. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the monitoring system is configured to:
analyze the sensor signals,
determine that a clinician has responded to an alert by determining that there has been a change in one of the sensor signals that is indicative of a clinician having responded to the alert, and
analyze clinician performance in response thereto.
10. Apparatus for use with a plurality of patients, the apparatus comprising:
a plurality of sensors configured to detect physiological parameters of respective patients, and to generate respective sensor signals in response thereto;
at least one output unit configured to generate alerts in response to the plurality of sensor signals; and
a monitoring system configured to:
analyze a rate at which the alerts are generated,
in response thereto, determine that a setting of the at least one output unit should be changed, and
in response thereto:
generate an output that is indicative of a recommended change to the setting of the at least one output unit, or
automatically change the setting of the at least one output unit.
11. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the apparatus is for use with a plurality of resting surfaces, respective patients of the plurality of patients resting on respective resting surfaces of the plurality of resting surfaces, and wherein respective sensors of the plurality of sensors are configured to be coupled to respective resting surfaces of the plurality of resting surfaces.
12. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the monitoring system is configured to generate an output that is indicative of the recommended change to the setting of the at least one output unit in response to determining that a setting of the at least one output unit should be changed.
13. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the monitoring system is configured to automatically change the setting of the at least one output unit in response to determining that a setting of the at least one output unit should be changed.
14. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the monitoring system is configured to determine that the setting of the at least one output unit should be changed by determining that a threshold used by the at least one output unit should be changed.
15. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the monitoring system is configured to determine that the setting of the at least one output unit should be changed in a manner that will lower the rate at which the alerts are generated, in response to the rate at which the alerts are generated exceeding a threshold rate.
16. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the monitoring system is configured to determine that the setting of the at least one output unit should be changed in a manner that will increase the rate at which the alerts are generated, in response to the rate at which the alerts are generated being below a threshold rate.
17. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the monitoring system is configured to determine that the setting of the at least one output unit should be changed by determining that a general setting of the at least one output unit should be changed in a manner that affects a response of the at least one output unit to each one of the plurality of sensor signals.
18. The apparatus according to claim 17 , wherein the monitoring system is configured to determine that the general setting of the at least one output unit should be changed, in response to determining an overall alert rate at which alerts are generated based on the sensor signals from all of the plurality of sensors.
19. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the monitoring system is configured to automatically change alert settings of each of the plurality of sensors based on time of day.
20. The apparatus according to claim 19 , wherein the apparatus is for use with a plurality of resting surfaces, respective patients of the plurality of patients resting on respective resting surfaces of the plurality of resting surfaces, and wherein respective sensors of the plurality of sensors are configured to be coupled to respective resting surfaces of the plurality of resting surfaces.