Adventist Midwest Health’s hospitals recently launched a new system that will improve care for a growing number of diabetic patients. Under an agreement with MD Scientific, LLC, Adventist will make the EndoTool glucose management system the standard of care for controlling in-patient blood glucose levels at its four suburban Chicago hospitals.
EndoTool is a highly sophisticated software system that calculates the dose of intravenous, or IV, insulin needed to quickly control blood glucose levels in a critical care setting. It actively models and adapts to individual patient responses to IV insulin — even for those with fluctuating insulin requirements.
“Elevated blood glucose levels can interfere with the normal healing process, resulting in prolonged hospital stays and high rates of infection,” said Dr. Richard Carroll, regional vice president/co-chief medical officer for Adventist. “Several large studies have shown that tightly controlling blood sugar in critical care patients significantly reduces complications and improves outcomes. We strive to use the newest technology to cater to all of our patients.”
The main component of the EndoTool glucose management system is a software program that runs on the hospital’s internal computer system. The caregiver inputs the patient’s blood sugar reading into the system, and the program computes the rate of insulin necessary to maintain blood sugar readings desired by the physician. The caregiver then adjusts the IV pump, and the EndoTool automatically computes when the next blood sugar reading is needed, also prompting the caregiver when it is due. The system downloads all of this information to the patient’s electronic medical record and performs quality assurance documentation for continuous quality improvements.
According to the American Diabetes Association, there are 18.2 million people in the United States with diabetes. About one-third of diabetics don’t know they have it.
“We are so excited about this new technology,” said Katie Weibel, clinical coordinator of diabetic education and a registered nurse. “Not only is this one more way we deliver whole person care, but it also adds another layer of safety for our patients.”
Western suburbs, IL —
