Medical Device Interoperability Could Improve Patient Care

Device interoperability, the ability to safely share health information across various technologies and systems, could enhanced patient safety and provide better clinical outcomes.

Researchers at the West Health Institute (WHI; La Jolla, CA, USA) conducted an online national survey of 526 nurses to study the impact of the current lack of interoperability among medical devices in the hospital setting on patient care. The devices in question included everything from infusion pumps, ventilators, pulse oximeters, and blood pressure cuffs to electronic health records (EHRs).

Among the nurses, 50% said they had witnessed a medical error due to lack of device coordination, and 60% said medical errors could be significantly reduced if medical devices were connected and shared data with each other automatically. Nearly half of these nurses (46%) claimed an error is extremely or very likely to occur when information must be manually transcribed from one device to another, with 69% adding that manually transcribing data is very likely to take time away from patients who need attention.

“Nurses are the front line of patient care and have an unrivaled ability to identify and address problems at the intersection of patients and technology,” said Joseph Smith, MD, chief medical and science officer at WHI. “The survey helps show how much of a nurse’s time could be better spent in direct care of patients and families, and how errors could be potentially avoided if medical devices, which have been so successful at improving patient care, were able to take the next step and seamlessly share critical information around the patient’s bedside.”

“Nurses enter the profession because they want to care for patients, not because they are interested in programming machines,” said Patricia Folcarelli, RN, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Boston, MA, USA). “As many as 10 devices may monitor or treat a single patient in an intensive care unit. The nurse not only has to program and monitor the machines, he or she often spends a significant amount of time transcribing data by hand because the devices are not designed to share information.”

The researchers concluded that in order to make widespread medical device interoperability a reality, three key actions need to be taken:
Encourage the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC; Washington DC, USA) to specifically include the capture, integration, and sharing of medical device information in their nationwide interoperability roadmap.
Encourage the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS; Washington DC, USA) to recognize open standards for medical device communication and provide guidance for manufacturers regarding the design, testing and labeling of interoperable medical devices.
Ensure there are adequate incentives included in any Congressional legislation for the development and use of interoperable medical devices moving forward.

Related Links:
West Health Institute
US Department of Health & Human Services