Doctor of Nursing Practice Program
Kimberly Trujillo, DNP, MBA, MSN, RN
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Committee Chair Name & Credentials:
Jennifer Barut, PhD, MSN, RN
DNP Project Abstract
Increasing Usage of Remote Video Monitoring Impacts Patient Safety and Cost
Purpose
A Remote Video Monitoring (RVM) patient safety system was implemented in a South Florida academic medical center acute care hospital to decrease inpatient falls and the expense of safety sitters. Despite the early success of this program, RVM utilization was low, while sitter utilization remained high. The average daily RVM census pre-project was 56, and the average daily sitter usage was 35.2.
Methods
A quality improvement project took place that included developing, implementing, and evaluating the “Nurse Driven Protocol for Initiation, Discontinuation, and Failure of Remote Video Monitoring.” Implementation took place on August 1, 2022, after approval from the executive medical committee and education for all staff.
Daily data collection occurred between June 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022. Data included orders for RVM and Sitters, usage per unit, shift, and day from twice-daily electronic medical record reports, and falls data provided from internal incident reports.
Results
Post-implementation data yielded 18,237 total orders for RVM, with an average daily census of 60, yielding a 7.1% increase. The average daily sitter usage was 35.1 during the same time frame. Inpatient falls decreased during this time from a 15-per-month average down to 10. Only one fall in the six-month observation period occurred when RVM was used.
Implications for Practice
Overall utilization of Remote Video Monitoring increased post-implementation of a nurse-driven protocol. Additionally, a 0.3% reduction in safety sitter usage was seen during this time, and inpatient falls decreased by 33.3% post-implementation.
Increasing Remote Video Monitoring utilization has shown a positive impact on keeping patients safe from falls while decreasing sitter usage, freeing up nursing assistants to perform other clinical tasks while decreasing spending.
