Of all the vital signs, blood pressure (BP) measurement has perhaps the strongest connection to point of care diagnosis, patient risk stratification and medication dosing. These critical factors of care management are essential to precise decision-making tied to better patient outcomes. Because of its centrality in care and clinical outcomes, it is essential for BP measurement to be accurate, consistent and repeatable.
In order to properly diagnose and treat hypertension—a major risk factor for coronary heart disease, stroke and renal failure—caregivers need to capture accurate BP measurements, both current and trending. It is also becoming increasingly important to detect small differences in BP readings to appropriately treat patients with diabetes and renal diseases, making accurate trending data and standardized protocols critical.
Unfortunately, BP measurement continues to be one of the most inconsistently performed tests in the clinical environment. Many healthcare providers still may not be following AMA recommendations for more accurate BP measurement which can contribute to the inconsistency. The method used to acquire BP readings can also increase the risk of inaccuracies due to human variables.
To help minimize this risk, Midmark developed a fully integrated point of care ecosystem that focuses on three main areas of BP capture—proper patient positioning, accurate and consistent BP capture and EMR connectivity. When combined, these three aspects of BP measurement can help make it easier for caregivers to develop standardized protocols and adhere to clinical guidelines to promote more consistently accurate BP measurements.
Proper Patient Positioning
Patient comfort level and position of their body, including arms and legs, can significantly impact BP readings. Barrier-free power examination chairs, such as the Midmark 626 Barrier-Free® Examination Chair with Patient Support Rails+, are designed to promote AMA-recommended patient positioning for blood pressure capture. This type of exam chair offers unique positioning capabilities necessary to help ensure a patient’s back is properly supported with feet flat on the floor while the arm is supported with the BP cuff at heart height by the support rails.
Accurate, Consistent BP Capture
Midmark is the first company to implement a Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT) BP Protocol with patient positioning guidelines in a vital signs acquisition device. IQvitals® Zone™ with a SPRINT-based BP Protocol introduces automation at the point of care that can help ensure a higher level of accuracy, minimizing human variables while maximizing consistency and data accuracy.
EMR Connectivity
Introducing a new level of connectivity to the BP measurement process helps protect the quality of data by reducing the risk of human errors occurring at the keyboard. Seamless connectivity from the IQvitals Zone device to the patient’s electronic medical record (EMR) eliminates the likelihood of transcription errors and helps provide greater confidence in data accuracy. Midmark Zone™ technology transfers data to the EMR using a secure Bluetooth® Low Energy connection at the point of care.
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About CME: CME Corp is a full-service healthcare equipment and turn-key logistics company providing personalized support and service. With service centers nationwide, CME offers more than 2 million medical products from a total of over 2,000 manufacturers. CME is a healthcare system's complete equipment solution by providing product selection, sales, warehousing, assembly, staging, direct-to-site delivery, installation, and biomedical services for all its equipment.
About Midmark: Midmark helps physicians and care teams deliver exceptional patient care through seamless room design, better equipment, smarter workflows and integrated technologies. For more than 50 years, we have used our knowledge and unmatched understanding of ambulatory and acute care environments to help our customers improve clinical outcomes and eliminate the barriers preventing seamless, well-coordinated patient care. Learn more at midmark.com/medical/resource-library.
