CareView Communications, Inc. ("CareView" or the "Company") (Pink Sheets:CRVW), an information technology provider to the healthcare industry, announced that it has filed a new patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to cover an innovative technology that will assist hospitals and other medical facilities in their efforts to prevent decubitus ulcers or "bed sores" experienced by patients. CareView's new product covered by the pending patent uses the CareView System™ monitoring system to ensure timely patient movement which assists caregivers in the prevention and treatment of bed sores.
The new technology will expand upon the existing NurseView™ and Virtual Bed Rails™ modules of the CareView System™ to establish and monitor the Pressure Ulcer Management program. The effective implementation of the Pressure Ulcer Management program will offer a new technique to document, reduce and manage the effects of bed sores for patients in hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities.
The total cost of treatment of pressure ulcers in the United States is estimated at $11 billion per year. According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ("CMS"), a total of 257,412 preventable pressure ulcers were reported as secondary diagnoses in hospitals in 2007. The average cost of each of those pressure ulcers is estimated to be $43,180 per hospital stay.
"We are very pleased to have begun the process of patenting our breakthrough technology in the fight against bed sores experienced by patients in hospitals and other health care facilities. Given the guidelines by the CMS and the insurance industry for prevention of bed sores, this topic has become a very important quality of treatment issue. We believe our new technology will greatly assist any hospital in their efforts to comply with these guidelines and to provide greater patient care," stated Steven Johnson, CareView's President and Chief Operating Officer.
The CareView System™ is a suite of products that brings the information technology of the 21st century directly to patients, families and healthcare providers by connecting them through one easy-to-install and simple-to-use system. This collaboration will allow the hospitals and other healthcare facilities to provide:
- The ability to implement audit tools to ensure that quality standards are being adhered to, safety measures are being complied with, as both can be used to further educate caregivers to continually enhance quality and safety for their patients.
- Doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers with the ability to efficiently and cost-effectively monitor, treat and visit their patients.
- Family members and friends with the ability to use the Internet to monitor, visit, and correspond with their loved ones who are patients.
- Patients and their visitors with direct access to on-demand high-speed Internet and first run movies in their rooms.
Can exercise undo sitting's health risks? New study suggests vigorous activity helps