August 20, 2013, Salt Lake City – Intermountain Healthcare and several leading information technology companies have joined forces to bring transformational technologies to the patient bedside quickly and more efficiently.
Founding members Xi3 and Intel, and collaborators Dell, CenturyLink, NetApp and Sotera Wireless joined together to participate with Intermountain’s Healthcare Transformation Lab. The Lab is located on the campus of Intermountain’s flagship hospital, Intermountain Medical Center, in Murray, Utah. Intermountain employees and collaborating organizations will jointly research, develop, and measure new ideas to improve and optimize patient care. Once innovations are appropriately studied and reviewed, the teams will work together to rapidly design, create, and test new healthcare technologies to be used at Intermountain facilities and possibly across the nation, depending on contractual and regulatory obligations.
Some of the Lab projects already underway include prototypes ready for display:
- Patient Room of the Future – Advanced interactive technologies will be used to improve medical outcomes and comfort for patients. Monitoring of patients’ vital signs – heart rate, electrocardiogram, blood pressure, oxygenation level, respiration, and temperature – will be done without being tethered to wires. The room has the ability to be personalized to each patient, with light, sound, entertainment, and internet access.
- 3D Printing of Medical Devices – 3D printers are being used to produce prototypes of medical devices and equipment for testing and clinical purposes.
- Handwashing Sensor – The Healthcare Transformation Lab worked collaboratively with clinicians to develop a hand-hygiene sensor device that can be worn like a watch by hospital physicians, nurses, and other caregivers. It positively re-enforces proper hand hygiene to reduce infections.
- Life Detector – The Lab worked with clinicians to develop a life detector that alerts caregivers of changes to patients’ vital signs, in or out of medical facilities. It is simple, non-obtrusive, and based on “real-time” care.
The Healthcare Transformation Lab is a new element in Intermountain’s pioneering role in healthcare technology. Under the direction of Marc Probst, Intermountain’s chief information officer, teams will work to develop innovative solutions that result in better health, better care and lower costs.
Since the 1970s, Intermountain has pioneered the use of electronic medical records. The records system gives clinicians a complete medical history for individual patients, clinical decision-making support and a vibrant research tool (more than 1,200 clinical research studies are currently underway).
Intermountain Healthcare is a Utah-based nonprofit system of 22 hospitals, 185 clinics, a Medical Group with some 1,000 employed physicians, a health plans division called SelectHealth and other health services. For more information about Intermountain, visit www.intermountainhealthcare.org.
