Sepsis represents a significant health care challenge, affecting 1.7 million Americans each year, and costing the hospital industry upwards of $27 billion to treat.
Rural emergency departments (EDs) in particular face resource constraints, monitoring challenges and transfer decisions unique to their settings. This is where telehealth monitoring can assist in the care of sepsis patients presenting to EDs, regardless of location.
In mid-2012, OSF HealthCare rolled out OSF ConstantCare or the eICU, a telehealth hub that provides an extra set of eyes for physicians and nurses taking care of patients with intensive care needs across the organization.
As part of the study, Jump used in situ or on-site simulation to introduce two rural ED teams to the eICU as a resource for treating patients with severe sepsis and septic shock. The idea was to give clinicians the practice they need with telemedicine in their own environments, and eventually adopt it as a daily practice.