In an effort to stop the loss of telemetry boxes, a new Telemetry Tracking System was implemented hospital-wide in October 2002. In the past, telemetry boxes were often sent to the laundry, but at times, they went home or to secondary facilities still attached to patients, ended up in Dietary or Radiology, or just disappeared all together.
Under the new Telemetry Tracking System, unit coordinators are responsible for tracking the boxes twice a day during the week and once a day on weekends via the Telemetry Tracking Tool. If there are any unaccounted for telemetry boxes, the BWH Lost Telemetry Box Procedure is then implemented. This process was created as a result of the ingenuity of 4B Nurse Manager Diane Barsam.
“Since implementing Diane’s system, we have seen a drastic decrease in the loss of telemetry boxes,” said Michael Dumais, RN, BWH bedside technology specialist.
Contamination is another common problem associated with telemetry boxes. However, the invention of the telemetry pouch – a plastic bag with Velcro closure – has ultimately resolved this issue as well.
“The telemetry tracking system and telemetry pouches have been an absolutely fantastic success,” said Dumais.
Questions regarding the newly implemented Telemetry Tracking System should be directed to Dumais (mdumais@partners.org).