Medical Technology
Technology can sometimes seem intimidating, but when it comes to your healthcare, you logically want access to advanced medical technology. That’s what you’ll find at West Tennessee Healthcare.
What’s New in Medical Technology
Technology in medicine is always changing, and we’re committed to keeping up with the changes. At West Tennessee Healthcare, we now offer:
Centralized Monitoring Unit (CMU)
A centralized monitoring unit is a platform that brings together patient information from multiple sources, allowing for those in the hospital to be continuously monitored.
What does that mean for patients? If you’ve ever stayed overnight in a hospital, you’ve heard many alarms and some that lingered for a while. Centralized monitoring allows for those alarms to be swiftly managed and cleared, while still maintaining safe oversight of patients’ vital signs and overall health.
This technology provides the team of nurses with support and allows them to focus on the essentials of exceptional bedside care.
Electronic ICU (eICU)
An electronic ICU is an intensive care unit that’s closely monitored using telemedicine technology. This doesn’t replace the care that’s being provided in the ICU itself—it enhances it.
In an eICU at a community hospital, the physicians, advanced care practitioners, and nurses are supplemented by a remote, real-time monitoring system overseen by a critical care specialist in another location. These remote providers act as an extra layer of support for the providers in the hospital, giving them insights and guidance as they offer hands-on care.
What does that mean for patients? No matter where you’re receiving care, you have access to highly specialized medical providers throughout the West Tennessee Healthcare system. That means you don’t have to travel to get the intensive care you need.
Telehealth Services
Telehealth, also called telemedicine, has been around for many years. While it gained new attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, remote medical consultations have been performed since the 1950s.
At West Tennessee Healthcare, we’re expanding the use of this medical technology to the emergency departments in our community hospitals. When patients seek care in an emergency setting at those facilities for conditions affecting the heart and brain, our emergency providers will be able to consult specialists in another location.
What does that mean for patients? The highly qualified providers at our community hospitals are now supported with real-time access to the expertise of cardiology and neurology specialists. That means that you can get the care you need for a serious or even life-threatening health issue without ever leaving your community.
Innovating With Medical Technology
These days, technology is pretty much everywhere. You may have smart devices throughout your home, workplace, and even in your car. These devices serve to make life easier—and sometimes, such as with equipment like smart smoke detectors in our homes and backup cameras on our vehicles—safer.
That’s the ultimate point of medical technology, too. Every piece of equipment and program we invest in here at West Tennessee Healthcare is designed to help us provide the safest, most efficient care for all our patients.
At West Tennessee Healthcare locations throughout the region, you can access a full spectrum of medical services that are enhanced by advanced technology. We’re proud to combine a human touch with the technology that’s pushing healthcare forward.
