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CancerCare of Maine, operated by Eastern Maine Medical Center, recently selected the Versus Advantages solution from Versus Technology, Inc. for its new, state-of-the-art facility in Brewer, ME. 

The Versus solution is used to automatically communicate patient care progression, room status and to maximize efficiency through integration with other systems such as digital phones, scheduling and nurse call.

The Versus Real-time Locating System ( RTLS ) allows hospitals and clinics to identify unique patient needs, determine where to place the patient, notify staff of the patient's next milestone and monitor staff time with patients. Patients and staff wear locating badges that identify the individual and his or her location, which is communicated through the Versus sensory network. This technology not only helps staff locate patients and one another throughout multiple treatment areas, it also provides real-time census data, allowing facilities to monitor patient-to-staff ratios.

The same signaling technology that allows caregivers to locate one another also drives many other processes, such as real-time bed management. With patients wearing locating badges, healthcare facilities use Versus ' rules-based software to automatically determine room availability (e.g., when a patient enters a room, the room is automatically identified as 'in use,' but when he leaves, the room status is set to 'dirty' and an alert is sent notifying the appropriate staff that the room is ready to be cleaned). This allows for real-time communication of room status and patient rooming needs.

Versus is keenly aware of the intervals of care and has built this awareness into the Versus Advantages Clinic solution. Versus relays patient status and stage of care to all caregivers in real-time, and staff are able to communicate key pieces of information such as "I've see Patient X" without having to pick up the phone or track someone down. At many facilities, patients may be in one of several waiting rooms depending on their lab and treatment schedule for the day. Those caregivers who need to know that the patient has received his lab result or completed his treatment are notified, and the patient progresses to the next stage of the visit more quickly. Versus helps clinics to be more efficient, which in turn allows caregivers to provide more personal care to more patients on any given day.

Maximizing staff efficiency and patient satisfaction while maintaining low operating costs are top priorities among healthcare providers. Therefore, the Versus solution is used to automatically direct staff to the next patient and to alert staff to patient and room status. Versus also helps staff clearly see which set of rooms or patients they are responsible for each day, so staff will not waste time filtering through information irrelevant to their care assignments. Versus dashboards capture Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), allowing supervisors to monitor staff time with patients, treatment times, and wait times in order to create a more efficient patient care environment.

"CancerCare of Maine has grown steadily over the years and Versus is pleased to provide our clinic workflow automation solution to enhance efficiency and patient satisfaction," says HT Snowday, Chief Technology Officer. "We enjoy working with our customers to achieve a higher quality of care and a better patient experience. Our commitment to workflow efficiencies and patient safety help make it happen." And many play a role: the Versus sensory network was installed at the new cancer center by Canfield Systems, Inc. of Scarborough, ME. It is also currently utilized for patient flow automation and volume management at EMMC's new Imaging Center and at EMMC's main hospital to automate the GE Healthcare Telligence nurse call system. 

Source: Versus Technology

You can get more details about ;Versus Technology & its related topics from our Versus Technology User Group.