Rockdale Medical Center recently launched a cutting edge mobile patient monitoring program that allows doctors to keep a closer eye on labor and delivery patients and gives cardiologists immediate access to electrocardiograph data, improving patient safety and treatment.

RMC is the first healthcare facility in the metro Atlanta area to acquire the AirStrip ONE technology to help obstetricians and cardiologists.

For obstetricians, the AirStrip ONE OB program delivers live vital patient data - including fetal heart rate,maternal contraction patterns, along with vital signs and nursing notes from the hospital labor and delivery unit - to a physician's smartphone or tablet. 

Cardiologists at Rockdale are now using AirStrip ONE Cardiology, which can enable faster communication with emergency medical technicians conducting ECG in the field, where time is of the essence, and shorter average times for heart attack patients to get proper care upon arriving at the hospital.

Both programs work with a variety of mobile devices, are cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and support compliance with federal patient privacy regulations. To date, AirStrip ONE OB has supported physicians with more than 1.8 million deliveries across the U.S., averaging some 514,000 births covered annually.

The AirStrip ONE OB program offers a crucial layer of protection and helps look after the comfort, safety and security of patients, said a hospital spokesperson Sarah Teach. "No matter the demands of the day or a physician's location, they can closely watch their patients in labor and be in a position to react immediately to a change in situation. That will contribute to improved patient care."

At the same time, the cardiac care team at Rockdale is now able to access ECGs via AirStrip ONE Cardiology on their mobile devices. Using the program supports faster, expert confirmation, correction, and influence on the diagnosis and treatment plan for heart attack patients. Hospitals using AirStrip ONE Cardiology have seen reduced door-to-balloon times and shorter patient stays in the ICU. Cardiologists and the entire care team can see an ECG in a matter of moments. That helps physicians assess the patient's condition right away and make the best care decision possible when time is of the essence.

The ECG is one of the most common tools used to assess cardiac patients - and in cardiac care, every minute counts. The sooner a physician can assess what's wrong, the sooner treatment can begin and help prevent as much heart damage as possible.

Rockdale Medical Center is a 138-bed accute care hospital fully accredited by the Joint Commission, which evaluates hospital patient care for quality, safety and value. RMC is owned by LIfePoint Hospitals, which owns 55 community hospitals nation-wide.