When trained observers use remote video monitoring to watch patients, it can reduce patient falls by 35 percent, according to a study soon to be published in Nursing Economic$ - The Journal for Health Care Leaders.
The study compared the use of fall-prevention protocol and AvaSys TeleSitter Solution, a remote video monitoring system, against the use of standard fall-prevention protocol alone in three units of an urban hospital for nine months. A total of 828 patients were monitored, and falls decreased by 35 percent.
"The research shows that patients are safer when they are monitored by a trained, dedicated observer 24 hours a day," said Lisbeth Votruba, RN, vice president of clinical quality and innovation at AvaSure, the company that makes AvaSys, and the study's lead author.
The study was funded by the Saint Mary's Foundation.