New Study Adds to Consensus on ICU Effectiveness

Research continues to show that tele-ICUs save lives and money. A study from University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found that rates of preventable complications declined from 13 to 1.6 per patient stay, and overall length of stay in the hospital decreased by 3.5 days.

This study, "Hospital Mortality, Length of Stay, and Preventable Complications Among Critically Ill Patients Before and After Tele-ICU Reengineering of Critical Care Processes," - published online May 16 - found that tele-ICU intervention was associated with lower hospital and ICU mortality, shorter hospital and ICU lengths of stay, significantly higher rates of adherence to critical care best practices and lower rates of complications.

The new findings represent a growing consensus among experts that tele-ICUs save lives. A study released Dec. 1 by the New England Healthcare Institute (NEHI) and the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative also found that patient mortality decreases significantly - as much as 36 percent - when hospitals adopt tele-ICU technology.

In the next 20 years, there will be a tripling of the capacity need of current ICUs, and the number of intensivists will not keep up with this staggering demand. Many ICU patients will not have access to specialized intensivist care, and hospitals will continue to struggle with recruitment in the face of this growing supply/demand Imbalance. However, tele-ICUs can be a solution - one with tremendous clinical and financial results.

The Advanced ICU Care 24/7 tele-ICU program combines the expertise of over 20 board-certified, fellowship-trained intensivists, seasoned nurse practitioners and CCRN-certified nurses, with over 100 years of ICU management leadership along with the ongoing, data-driven Advanced ICU Care Performance Improvement Program, all supported by around-the-clock professional technical support. We have implemented our tele-ICU program at 22 hospitals in 10 states.

Advanced ICU Care is the largest and most experienced independent organization providing tele-ICU management services in the country. Our programs have a strong record of enabling our clients to significantly reduce mortality and ICU length of stay, while growing admission volumes.

You can find the study online here.