Times of India
24, February 2010
By Durgesh Nandan Jha
New Delhi, India

New Software Will Monitor Vital Signs Of Patients In ICU
From now, doctors at the AIIMS Trauma Centre will be able to monitor the condition of ICU patients even while sitting at home or in the office. For emergency care, the institution has adopted a new software mechanism wherein the vital functions of a serious patient like body temperature, blood pressure and respiratory system can be updated and viewed online at regular intervals for further response and suggestions of the doctor immediately. According to Dr M C Misra, chief of the AIIMS Trauma Centre, all senior doctors have been provided with a security–proof access code through which the updates can be viewed.

“Today, I am in Kochi. But I can still access the recent and accurate updates of the patient admitted in ICU. It’s easier to monitor and guide the treatment of a serious patient when you have specific information on the vital functions and the latest laboratory reports in front of you. Also, the move will help to check any inconsistencies on the part of the nursing staff or the doctors at the earliest,” said Misra. He said the resident doctors, nurses, radiologists and laboratory persons have been given different code with restricted access. Dr Deepak Agarwal, assistant professor of neurosurgery at the trauma centre, has been instrumental in devising the new mechanism . Agarwal said, “There are 32 ICU beds at the trauma centre — 12 for general ICU and 20 for neurosurgery cases. These patients require round–theclock monitoring. Though at least one doctor is always present there, the online facility will help senior doctors or those handling a particular case follow the developments more precisely.”

AIIMS Trauma Centre is probably the first government hospital in India to have made its patient record system online. The hospital now maintains record of all its patients. There is a trauma centre code given to all patients at the time of registration. With this code, the doctor can see the history of the patient’s treatment, which includes the admission note, clinical details and discharge summary among others. “Also, a patient who has been treated already need not register again. He just has to tell the trauma centre code,” said Dr Sanjeev Bhoi, head of the emergency medicine.