On Monday, April 24, four units at HMH (WT 17 and 18, Dunn 4 West and Main 8 North) began using BioButtons, made by BioIntelliSense, to collect patient vitals and improve patient care. BioButtons are small, adhesive, wireless sensors which collect and transmit patient data directly to Epic. Attached to each patient about two inches below the left collarbone, the sensor continuously collects a number of values, including the patient’s resting heart rate, resting respiratory rate, skin temperature, minutes slept per hour and hours per day and minutes spent in different activities (resting, routine, exercise).
“We are excited to introduce the BioButton technology to patient care at Houston Methodist,” said Gail Vozzella, HMH senior vice president and chief nursing executive. “We have great nursing staff engagement of our BioButton launch in our four pilot units. Nurses are excited about the potential of accurate, frequent vital signs without disturbing patients as much as we do today with manual metrics.”
In the future, data from the BioButtons and Epic will flow into specialized software to centrally monitor patients and alert clinicians when the patient data indicates a potential risk. Note: The BioButton does not replace telemetry EKG devices, collecting patient blood pressure vitals or general rounding on patients.
The BioButton is a medical grade wearable device designed to be used once per patient with a battery life of up to seven days. It can stay on the patient for baths and most procedures, but is removed if the patient is discharged, transferred to another unit or goes to the Cath Lab, MRI or surgery. If the patient is returning to the unit, special storage cubbies for the BioButton are available in each patient room and the BioButton is reapplied when the patient returns from the procedure. After use, each BioButton is collected in a special bag to be returned to the vendor and reprocessed for future re-use. Future plans include expanding BioButton use to other inpatient units at HMH and systemwide.
