HIMSS Analytics gauges device data charting and EMR integration

A new white paper from HIMSS Analytics, sponsored by Lantronix, surveyed 825 healthcare organizations to explore the progress of interfacing medical devices with the EMR.

Recording and charting changes in vital signs has been identified as one of the core areas that will be measured for meaningful use incentives.

The white paper details progress on these efforts, and finds that just one-third of the hospitals surveyed indicated they had an active interface between medical devices at their organization and their electronic medical record (EMR).

Those hospital respondents with such an interface in place, meanwhile, indicated the ability to automatically chart data from the device directly to the EMR as the primary reason.

The research, conducted from June 2009 to June 2010, explored the number of types of devices in place at an organization, not the overall number of devices present. The survey included data from 825 U.S hospitals responding to questions about medical devices in general and how/if these devices are integrated into the EMR environment.

“The transfer of data directly from a medical device to the EMR can reduce potential medical errors and improve patient care because no manual transfer of data takes place,” said John H. Daniels, vice president, healthcare organizational services, for HIMSS. “Such data integration also improves workflow by saving time for clinical staff, a valuable benefit when looking at nursing shortages in healthcare.”  

The devices included in the survey are:


• cardiac output monitors
• defibrillators
• fetal monitors
• electrocardiographs
• infant incubators
• infusion pumps
• intelligent medical device hubs
• interactive infusion pumps
• physiologic monitors
• ventilators
• vital signs monitors

Other findings from the study include: