Read our white paper on the development and testing of a new tool to measure nurses’ acceptance of RVM technology.

Summary

Ensuring patient safety, especially the prevention of falls, is an important goal for nurses. Falls are a major cause of injuries among adult patients in acute care settings, and are associated with prolonged hospital stays and increased mortality (ShumwayCook et al., 2009; Votruba et al., 2016). Each year, hospitals in the United States spend millions of dollars on sitters to provide one-to-one direct observation to patients at high risk for falls despite little research evidence supporting its effectiveness in reducing patient fall rates (Bock, 2017; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016; Lang, 2014; Shumway-Cook et al., 2009). Findings from studies on the effects of completely eliminating sitters have been inconsistent. Some studies reported no increase in fall rates while others reported increased patient falls, higher unreimbursed treatment costs and legal fees for hospitals (Bock, 2017; Lang, 2014; Quigley & White, 2013; Shumway-Cook et al., 2009; Votruba et al., 2016). It is important that hospitals identify and implement cost effective, sustainable, and evidence-based interventions to reduce patient falls and unreimbursed costs.

Remote visual monitoring (RVM), “the use of cameras with speakers and trained technicians to directly observe patients from a remote location” is shown to...

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