TN Health System to Deploy Wearables for Continuous Inpatient Monitoring

A new continuous inpatient monitoring initiative resulting from a collaboration between Ardent Health Services and BioIntelliSense aims to use wearable devices to empower clinicians while improving clinical workflow.

BioIntelliSense provides continuous health monitoring and clinical intelligence solutions to facilitate remote patient monitoring (RPM). In this collaboration, BioIntelliSense has provided its BioButton wearable device and its BioCloud analytics engine, both of which Ardent began using in September.

Ardent Health Services owns and operates 30 hospitals and nearly 200 sites of care across six states. 

The health system's goal in using the two BioIntelliSense devices is to automate the collection of inpatient vital signs in general care units while increasing patient and clinician satisfaction levels. The BioButton device allows for remote data capture and continuous monitoring on a single device in acute and post-acute settings. The new continuous monitoring program will also leverage the Food and Drug Administration-cleared AlertWatch clinical intelligence and triage solution from BioIntellisense.

The new inpatient continuous monitoring initiative will involve patients wearing the BioButton device. This device captures up to 1,440 sets of vital sign measurements daily, according to the press release.

Using the technology, clinicians can determine which patients are clinically stable and ready for an early discharge, potentially reducing hospital stays, the press release states. Further, the BioCloud data analytics solution, patient-specific trending, and clinical intelligence can help clinicians detect adverse trends early, leading to proactive interventions.

“This partnership is another step forward in our efforts to leverage game-changing clinical technology to transform the care delivered in and outside of our hospitals and clinics,” said Ardent Health Services CEO Marty Bonick in the press release. “These tools empower our clinical teams to work at the top of their license while providing actionable insights that allow us to tailor care in near real time, supporting better outcomes and an improved experience for both patients and caregivers.”

The partnership comes as evidence showing RPM can effectively support clinical care grows.

In August, a study published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society found that RPM and health coaching are effective options when treating patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The study assessed the results of a 12-week trial that included 375 patients who either received care that leveraged RPM and health coaching or standard care. After the 12-week program, study participants completed the Chronic Respiratory Questionnaire, which indicated that patients in the RPM group experienced a sharper improvement in quality of life metrics.

Another study from July found that the use of a factory-calibrated continuous glucose monitor (CGM) successfully measured changes in blood sugar levels among people on dialysis.

Examining data from 20 patients receiving hemodialysis who were monitored for 10 days and used a device called Dexcom G6-Pro, researchers found that the CGM showed clinical reliability and provided accuracy when estimating blood sugar levels.