Vanderbilt University Launches iPhone App for Anesthesiologists

Vanderbilt University Medical Center has launched an application for mobile devices that allows anesthesiologists and other clinicians to monitor patients, check vital signs, communicate with other providers and peer into operating rooms during surgeries all from the convenience of their cell phones, according to a VUMC news release.

VigiVU, created for the iPhone by the VUMC Department of Anesthesiology, expands on an in-house desktop program called Vigilance to make the technology more portable and efficient, according to the release. Clinicians have the ability to monitor up to four patients simultaneously, and the app can be especially useful when care locations are multiple and separate.

Brian Rothman, MD, an anesthesiologist and VUMC associate director of perioperative informatics, said the app enhances proactive decision-making, makes communication between team personnel more efficient, and can improve patient care through perioperative situational awareness, collecting data from multiple sources including room video, monitors, labs and medical records, according to the release.

With the iPhone app, communication between clinicians during urgent situations is no longer reliant on outdated paging systems with delays, according to the release. A finger tap allows VigiVU users to text staff signed into a specific case.

"Why are we disconnected from our patients when current technology can bring them to us?" Dr. Rothman said in the release. "When we supervise, shouldn't we know about changes and events with our patients as they happen? Why can't we communicate with our staff immediately to start correcting the issue, either from another room or while we are on our way? With this app, we are connected and can be even more proactive in our response to events."

Read the VUMC release on the anesthesia iPhone app.