East Cooper Medical Center to install LiveData and KARL STORZ Endoscopy- America's Patient-Aware OR solutions

Feb 9 2010

LiveData and KARL STORZ Endoscopy- America, Inc. today announced that East Cooper Medical Center will install the companies' Patient-Aware OR solution in the eight operating rooms in East Cooper's new hospital to be opened this quarter. KARL STORZ is a global leader in minimally invasive endoscopic technologies and operating room integration. LiveData is a leader in real-time data integration and display technology.

“This is an exciting time for all three companies participating in this installation”

Combining the strengths of KARL STORZ OR1^® and LiveData OR-Dashboard technologies, the Patient-Aware OR gives the surgical team a complete picture of what is going on in the operating room right precisely as it is happening. Equipped with OR-Dashboard technology, OR1 suites offer surgical teams a Wall of Knowledge that combines comprehensive real-time data from nursing, surgery and anesthesia systems, along with the surgical video, PACS images and lab reports. Images and data are displayed side by side on large wall-mounted screens or boom-mounted displays that are visible to the entire OR team.

Using these technologies to create a truly patient-centric OR, where critical case information is always readily available, advances patient safety, promotes effective communication among team members, improves OR efficiency, and enables hospitals to capitalize on existing IT investments.

Established in 1986, the new East Cooper Medical Center (ECMC) facility will have 140 private rooms plus 16 parent-to-be rooms. Based in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, ECMC is part of Tenet Healthcare Corporation, one of the largest investor-owned health care delivery systems in the nation, with 49 acute care hospitals in 12 states.

"Patient safety is a priority, both as a hospital and as a business. We recognize that East Cooper Medical Center is not the only option for healthcare, and advancements to patient safety represent a competitive advantage for us," said Janie Sinacore-Jaberg, CEO of East Cooper Medical Center. "As a leading healthcare provider, it is logical that we team-up with leading technology providers like KARL STORZ and LiveData; supporting our physicians with advanced technology for the good of their patients."

The integration software will be installed under the direction of Tenet Healthcare Corporation's IT organization in Dallas, and will securely interface with the technology installed in each of the eight operating rooms in Mt. Pleasant. LiveData has established a rapidly growing library of medical device and system interfaces, including McKesson's Horizon Surgical Manager documentation system that will be implemented at East Cooper. LiveData is working with Tenet to configure the McKesson interface for East Cooper.

"This is an exciting time for all three companies participating in this installation," said Connie Padden, Director of Technology Integration, KARL STORZ. "As a brand new facility, East Cooper Medical Center will be a showcase for quality and innovation, and we are proud to have our Patient-Aware OR as an essential medical resource."

"LiveData OR-Dashboard and KARL STORZ OR1 have been field-proven in large, marquee hospitals such as NewYork-Presbyterian, Massachusetts General, Johns Hopkins and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. But hospitals with five to 25 operating rooms represent the vast majority used by surgical patients, which makes the East Cooper installation even more representative of the market opportunity," said Phil Brzezinski, VP/Healthcare Systems for LiveData. With 25 operating rooms and a remote IT staff, East Cooper is pointing the way to future deployments."

Automatically gathering and displaying real-time data from disparate sources, the Patient-Aware OR reinforces consistent adherence to safety protocols designed to reduce surgical infections and eliminate so-called “never events”— serious, preventable, and costly medical errors such as wrong site, wrong person and wrong procedure surgery. Events like these are generally considered so threatening to patient safety that they should never happen. In the Patient-Aware OR, communication within the OR team is facilitated since each member has clear and automatic access to critical information about the patient, procedure and equipment.

Additionally, OR workflow efficiency and productivity are increased by streamlining interaction with other parts of the hospital to improve OR and PACU scheduling, ensuring that surgeon preferences are understood, and identifying missing tray and cart items before the team’s arrival. Hospitals can capitalize on their existing IT investments and accelerate payback from currently installed IT technology by collecting vital data from various systems, such as electronic medical records, pharmacy, lab and pathology systems.

East Cooper Medical Center has been serving the medical and healthcare needs of the greater Mt. Pleasant community since 1986. The hospital strives to be the primary health care facility in its community, providing services from women’s care to spine and general surgery. East Cooper Medical Center is accredited by the Joint Commission, the nation’s oldest and largest hospital accreditation agency. To learn more about East Cooper Regional Medical Center, visit www.eastcoopermedctr.com.