A Medical Device Daily

Karl Storz Endoscopy-America (Culver City, California), a developer of minimally invasive endoscopic technologies and operating room integration, has reported an exclusive OR integration distribution agreement with LiveData, (Cambridge, Massachusetts), a leader in real-time data integration and display technology.

Karl Storz will add LiveData's latest data integration and display capabilities to the OR1 system. Combining LiveData's OR-Dashboard with the latest OR1 technologies brings hospitals a true patient-aware operating room, where the surgical team can focus more fully and effectively on the patient.

"Combining the strengths of our OR1 technologies with the innovative data integration and display capabilities of OR-Dashboard helps give surgical teams a complete picture of what is going on in the operating room right as it is happening," said Connie Padden, director of technology integration, at Karl Storz. "Additionally, hospitals gain a greater ability to optimize OR activities by streamlining and strengthening resource management. Most importantly, enhanced OR communication and smoother-running procedures mean enhanced levels of care for patients."

The LiveData OR-Dashboard technology gives surgical teams a number of key benefits, including easy-to-read displays, comprehensive data integration, real-time updates of vital information, and enhanced communication among OR team members and other personnel. Vital information about both the patient and surgical procedure are seamlessly integrated and made available for the entire OR team to view.

Equipped with OR-Dashboard technology, OR1 suites offer surgical teams a "Wall of Knowledge" that combines comprehensive real-time data from nursing, surgery and anesthesia systems, as well as surgical equipment, PACS images and lab reports. This data is then displayed on a large wall-mounted screen that is visible to the entire OR team.

The companies said that using these technologies to create a true patient-aware OR helps ensure that surgical teams have the right information at the right time, improving patient safety, easing communication among team members, promoting OR workflow efficiency and productivity, and helping hospitals capitalize on existing IT investments.

Karl Storz also will provide sales and integration support for LiveData OR-Dashboard installations in hospitals nationwide.

By automatically gathering and displaying real-time data from disparate sources, the patient-aware OR reinforces consistent adherence to safety protocols and helps eliminate so-called "never events," which are errors generally considered so threatening to patient safety that they should never happen. Communication within the OR team also is facilitated, since each member has clear and automatic access to critical information about the patient, procedure and equipment.

Additionally, OR workflow efficiency and productivity are increased by streamlining interaction with other parts of the hospital to improve OR and PACU scheduling, ensuring that surgeon preferences are understood, and identifying missing tray and cart items before the team's arrival.

Hospitals can capitalize on their existing IT investments and accelerate payback from currently installed IT technology by collecting vital data from various systems, such as electronic medical records, pharmacy, lab and pathology systems.

In another agreement, iMedica (Dallas) a developer of healthcare software solutions for physician practices, reported a sales and marketing partnership with Blue Cliff (Honolulu), a software development and training company.

As a value added reseller of the iMedica Patient Relationship Manager (PRM), a single-application electronic medical record (EMR) and practice management (PM) solution that utilizes Microsoft's latest .NET technology, Blue Cliff aims to boost EMR and PM adoption among physician practices in Hawaii.

Blue Cliff has extensive experience in healthcare, with services ranging from installation and configuration of software to development of interfaces and training of staff.

iMedica's EMR is certified by the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology. A unique feature replicates data onto a tablet PC or laptop, enabling clinicians to access or update patient charts from anywhere and at anytime without being connected to the Internet, LAN or WAN.

The iMedica PRM also offers total security by repopulating data lost in a power outage or disaster within 30 to 40 minutes. PRM 2008 enhancements include fully integrated PQRI reporting, robust medication and vaccine management functions, reimbursement maximization tools and an advanced collections module.