Dive Brief:
-
Rush University Medical Center in Chicago is suing Draeger Inc. after the medical center said Draeger’s patient monitoring system didn’t work properly and put patients at risk, Chicago Tribune reported.
-
Rush said it spent $18 million on the system between 2012 and early 2016, but the alarm system, which is supposed to alert nurses and doctors of patient problems, was unreliable and inaccurate, according to the lawsuit filed in Illinois Northern District Court.
-
In a statement, Draeger said it “takes this matter seriously” and that it is “committed to working through this matter with our customer.”
Dive Insight:
Draeger's Infinity Acute Monitoring Solution is intended to monitor patient breathing, vital signs and other conditions. It includes data aggregation monitors, bedside monitors, patient-worn monitors and battery-powered portable monitors.
In the lawsuit, Rush said the system problems “endangered patients, severely disrupted Rush’s operations and caused Rush clinical, technical and engineering professionals to waste thousands of hours of time.” The system also didn't offer wired-to-wireless monitoring, according to Rush.
Rush alleged that monitoring for heart arrhythmia patients with pacemakers sent out false alarms, which upset patients and caused medical center personnel to rush to patients’ bedsides only to find out it was a false alarm. The alleged system problems did not harm any patients. Rush also alleged the monitoring system erased patient records.
Rush said the 644-bed academic medical center replaced the patient monitoring system because of the problems and replaced it with another system that cost $30 million.