ASA Talk to Show Hospitals Can Save up to $8 Million Annually Using Minute Ventilation as Early Warning for Respiratory Events

WALTHAM, Mass., Jan. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Research to be presented this week at the American Society of Anesthesiologists Practice Management 2015 conference shows that hospitals can annually avoid millions of dollars in costly treatment of preventable respiratory events by using respiratory monitors that are more precise and sensitive than vintage technology, like pulse oximetry and capnography.

The study monitored the respiratory status of 114 post-surgical patients, including 50 who received opioids in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU).  It found that non-invasive minute ventilation monitoring proved to be a far more precise predictor of potential respiratory events than competing monitoring technology – enabling clinicians to intervene before a patient required significant treatment or an extended stay in the PACU.

"Existing technologies have proven adept at detecting adverse events as or after they have occurred, but have not demonstrated significant clinical impact in predicting respiratory compromise in advance of adverse occurrences," said researcher Kamen Bliznashki, chief financial officer of Respiratory Motion, Inc.  "Data demonstrate that seemingly benign and temporal respiratory deterioration can result in significant, unappreciated patient risk and added costs."

The study, which also analyzed Medicare cost data and literature on respiratory event costs, found that the average cost of post-operative complications from potentially preventable respiratory events is more than $53,000 – and can rise dramatically.  It concluded that extending the length of stay in the PACU for patients affected by a respiratory event can cost a typical hospital up to $1.2 million a year – and could approach $8 million for some institutions.

The presentation is being made at the Practice Management conference in Atlanta, which has an audience of healthcare organization leaders, practice managers and anesthesia clinicians.

The issue of reducing the number of preventable respiratory events has become increasingly important for healthcare institutions struggling to contain their costs and reduce their exposure to litigation.  Studies have repeatedly shown that traditional respiratory monitoring technologies, like capnography and pulse oximetry, are poor predictors of respiratory issues.

The innovative ExSpiron™ Monitor, produced by Respiratory Motion, Inc., is the only device that precisely monitors respiratory volume non-invasively.  It offers realtime monitoring and diagnostics that display an EKG-like trace of respiratory function.

"The ExSpiron Patient Monitor is far more sensitive and reliable, and enables clinicians to better protect their patients from potentially life-threatening respiratory depression," said Dr. Jenny E. Freeman, Respiratory Motion's founder and CEO. "This serves patients, reduces the cost of healthcare by eliminating most preventable respiratory problems and protects institutions and physicians from potentially costly liability claims."

In hospital settings, changes in breathing status often precede deterioration towards respiratory depression and cardiac arrest. In-hospital cardiopulmonary arrests are estimated to be as high as 750,000 a year and may lead to 50,000 deaths annually.  The most common events preceding these cardiopulmonary arrests are respiratory.

Respiratory depression can occur partly in response to medications, such as narcotic painkillers and sedatives commonly administered after surgery. Because the strength of these medications and each patient's response is unique, respiratory depression can strike when least expected. Averting respiratory failure through early detection can reduce catastrophic events, improve patient care and outcomes, decrease healthcare costs and save lives.

The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality finds the annual costs of respiratory insufficiency, arrest and failure was $7.8 billion in 2007, making respiratory issues the third most rapidly increasing hospital inpatient cost in the United States: http://www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov/reports/statbriefs/sb91.jsp

Respiratory volume measurement is used to monitor the amount of air actually breathed by a patient. In 2012, Respiratory Motion won U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for its revolutionary ExSpiron monitoring system, the first technology to provide continuous, non-invasive respiration volume in spontaneously breathing patients.

About Respiratory Motion, Inc. 

Respiratory Motion, Inc. is a medical device company based in Waltham, Mass., that develops innovative technology to monitor respiration and help clinicians and hospitals improve patient safety and outcomes. The company's monitoring systems can identify patients who are at risk for life-threatening respiratory depression. This allows physicians to prevent the dangerous condition before it harms a patient. To learn more, visit www.respiratorymotion.com.

For more information contact:

Jack Auer
Vice president, sales and marketing
Respiratory Motion, Inc.
781-354-8051
[email protected]

Jim Martinez
Rightstorygroup
312-543-9026
[email protected]

SOURCE Respiratory Motion, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.respiratorymotion.com

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