ABSTRACT
A community hospital was using data capture technology to pull vital sign data into its electronic health record (EHR). Various vendor products can capture all vital signs; some also capture cardiac rhythm, patient activity and movement, or data from indwelling devices. The nurse or physician must review the data either on device screen or in the EHR, and accept, decline, or edit the information before it becomes part of the final record. The experts in the technology of these products, with vendor support, gave several educational sessions to the larger institution’s information technology and information security teams, and to the medical executive committee and the nursing staff. Since both products are commonly used in many hospitals across the country, and were fully licensed and approved, there were no legal issues identified. The community hospital personnel reassured the larger system, which allowed continuation of data capture from both devices into the EHR despite the differences between the various units.
