St. Clair Hospital Replaces Scheduling System With Versus RTLS

TRAVERSE CITY, MI–(Marketwire – December 7, 2010) – St. Clair Hospital Outpatient Surgery Center in Pittsburgh, PA has selected the Versus Advantages Real-time Locating System (RTLS) from Versus Technology, Inc. (Versus) (PINKSHEETS: VSTI) to improve nurse-to-patient assignment and continue automated nurse call cancellation functionality throughout the 34,000 sq. ft. same-day surgical center. The center anticipates an increase in patient volume and looked to RTLS automation to enhance workflow processes.

Versus has provided location information, call cancellation and patient flow to St. Clair for many years. This was primarily to automate a separate system (part nurse call, part scheduling) provided by a nurse call vendor that no longer fully supports the product. The Outpatient Surgery Center genuinely relied on this system for displaying patient and nurse location, assigning nurses to patients and patient readiness. However, the system required manual data entry and is no longer supported.

Working with Intelligent Electronic Systems, Inc. (IES), the local Pittsburgh GE Telligence dealer, Versus designed a new solution for St. Clair which utilizes much of their existing RTLS network, retains well-liked features from their old system and automates several additional features to improve patient care and efficiency. The most notable of these features is Versus’ new Schedule View, which offers caregivers a consolidated view of scheduled appointments and other applicable data. It can be sorted by provider or date, allowing users to filter information relevant to their own responsibilities. This view is an extension of Versus’ Enterprise View, which provides real-time, Glance-and-Go^™ clinical information on Floorplans, List Views, Wait Views, etc.

Versus automates nurse-to-patient assignments based on a nurse’s physical presence in the patient room. However, St. Clair’s process required assignment of nurses to patients the night before based on the patient’s acuity and the nurse’s expertise or skill level. The current day’s appointments and assignments are then displayed in a single view. St. Clair’s current system was not equipped to address their pre-staffing requirement, so Versus developed and delivered this capability. Versus receives an inbound HL7 message from St. Clair’s Account Manager Patient Financial Management system allowed current scheduling procedures to be maintained while extending necessary features for nurse pre-assignment and automated nurse notification upon patient arrival.

Additionally, St. Clair’s staff will transition from relying on nurse call lights to determine patient readiness to the web-based Versus Advantages solution. This allows all staff, including those in other departments like radiology or surgery, to determine patient readiness and room availability. Staff will continue to benefit from real-time locating of patients, staff and equipment, as well as wait time alerts and the traditional automated nurse registry and call cancellation that results from Versus’ integration to any nurse call system.

Versus is working closely with St. Clair’s HIS staff (contracted Allscripts employees) and IES to finalize the workflow process that will drive their Enterprise interfaces and communication configurations to pagers.

About St. Clair Hospital
St. Clair Hospital is an independent, acute care facility that provides advanced, high quality health care to more than 400,000 residents of southwestern Pennsylvania. With 525 physicians and more than 2,000 employees, St. Clair is the largest employer in Pittsburgh’s South Hills. Providing virtually every health care service that residents might need throughout their lives, the Hospital combines advanced technologies with exceptional medical expertise to ensure that the community’s health needs are met. For more information, please visit www.stclair.org.

About IES
IES is a life safety sales and service company. They provide Fire Alarm Systems, Nurse Call Systems, CCTV/Security Systems, Access Control Systems, and Fire Alarm Testing/Service Agreements. IES has been chosen by GE Healthcare above all others as their preferred healthcare communication systems company in Southwestern Pennsylvania.

About Versus Technology, Inc.
Established in 1988, Versus Technology, Inc. specializes in real-time location systems (RTLS) for healthcare. Used for enterprise patient tracking, bed management, asset tracking, and nurse call automation, Versus Advantages™ improves patient flow and documentation of caregiver and patient interactions, while enhancing communication and efficiency. Exclusively endorsed by the American Hospital Association, the Versus Advantages infrared (IR) and Active RFID solution is responsible for clinical-grade location and automation at a number of hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities worldwide. To learn more about Versus Technology, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: VSTI), our technology and client successes, visit www.versustech.com and take the Advantages Tour.

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