British Hospital Switches to iDevices for Patient Monitoring, Claims Lower Mortality Rate

Over in the United Kingdom, the word is that iPads and iPods are saving lives. Not through the power of their magic Apple logo, of course — as doctors and nurses Middlesbrough’s James Cook University Hospital claim (via the Gazette Live), the Cupertino company’s easily portable units allow the hospital to sideline the hassle of paper notes and focus on the information that demands immediate attention.

Using the iPod touch, for instance, medical personnel can monitor their patients’ health through the help of specialized apps that produce immediate reports on a person’s vitals and deliver alerts if something seems awry. The staff at the hospital also use networked iPads to check on each patient.

Via Gazette Live

“The key benefits of the system is the more rapid identification of deteriorating patients which in pilot sites has led to a reduction in hospital and critical care length of stay and a reduction in mortality — all of which are a huge benefit to both patients and clinicians,” said Tricia Hart, the head of South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Even more remarkable, the hospital is reporting such success just a few weeks after the program launched on June 23. The South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust obtained £1 million ($1.69m) for the project in March, and the use of Apple’s devices at James Cook marks only the first step in a much wider adoption of the project throughout Britain.

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