DMC Harper-Hutzel Hospitals Unveil 'Smart Rooms'

Continuing its tradition as a leader in advanced technology for patient care, DMC Harper University and Hutzel Women's Hospitals hosted a free public open house Thursday to unveil the latest innovation in bedside care, featuring Cerner Smart Room technology.

The Smart Room links clinical software technology to medical devices and workflow solutions for improved quality and efficiency. This new technological approach sends real time clinical data from devices like telemetry and vital sign monitors, beds and IV smart pumps directly into the electronic medical record without delay or error.

The objective of the Smart Room is to create an environment that both connects medical devices to the electronic medical records, and allows caregivers to view, in real time, relevant clinical data from the electronic medical record and medical device outputs such as cardiac telemetry waveforms, temperature and other vital signs.

Smart Rooms also empower patients and their families by connecting them to their personal health record right at the bedside.

"This project extends the success of our implementation of the Electronic Medical Record, in the way it further enhances patient care and most importantly, our continued commitment to patient safety," said Thomas Malone, president of Harper-Hutzel Hospitals. "Much like the EMR, the project's success is a multidisciplinary collaboration that is patient care-focused, led by clinicians, and supported by information technology experts. This unit is the first of many renovations scheduled for Harper-Hutzel Hospitals through Vanguard Health System investments. Our patients and employees are excited about this new vision."

To implement this new technology, DMC collaborated with three top technical solution companies that provided the Smart Room's software, hardware and connectivity capabilities: Troy-based CareTech Solutions, Cerner Corp. and Spacelabs Healthcare.

"DMC Harper-Hutzel's Smart Room is a great example of how healthcare is applying technology to improve the delivery of patient care," said Jim Giordano, president and CEO of CareTech Solutions, DMC's IT partner. "As the system integrator for the DMC, CareTech assimilated several of the new Smart Room technologies into 'all-in-one' solutions that reduced work flow steps, and simplified the delivery of information into the EMR."

DMC Harper University Hospital is one of nine hospitals and institutes operated by the Detroit Medical Center. It is the region's specialty hospital for treatment of the minor to the most complex cases in cardiology, neurology, neurosurgery, organ transplants and bariatric surgery. The bariatric program at Harper is the first in Michigan to have been awarded disease-specific care certification by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations.

The DMC has a combined 2,000-licensed beds and 2,600 affiliated physicians.