The selection committee should list its needs and goals first. Integration is key. Like all patient-care devices, users need to examine the ease of use and reliability of vital signs monitors. On a deeper level, users must address local integration of bedside devices. The goal of integration is to have data from various devices available in one place, such as the bedside monitor or a central monitoring station.
Integration requires that devices share information.
2 Large single vendors may offer a wide range of products and applications that can share information. 3,4 Find a common language As the number and diversity of monitoring devices increases, linking them becomes more difficult. For devices to share information, they need a common language. 5 Experts are developing standards that permit communication between different manufacturers' devices. It focuses specifically on communication among bedside devices and applications, making it possible to integrate device data.