US hospitals expand use of insulin management software

A group of US hospitals has expanded use of insulin therapy management software to all its acute care facilities, to improve best practices and reduce risk of hyperglycaemia and hypoglycaemia.

Atlanta-based Piedmont Healthcare is to implement Glytec’s eGlycemic Management System (eGMS) across all acute care facilities following a successful pilot project.

The not-for-profit healthcare system uses the software at Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, Piedmont Newnan Hospital, and Piedmont Athens Regional Medical Center.

Based on a new agreement Piedmont Healthcare will implement eGMS at its five remaining hospital sites in the region.

Insulin is among the most prescribed medications for hospitalised patients, and there are significant risks and challenges around dosing.

Glytec’s software offers evidence-based insulin dosing support, and provides surveillance of blood glucose values to identify at-risk patients.

Unit-level dashboards and real-time alerts help nurses with blood glucose checks, backed with analytics to continuously improve care.

Glytec’s clinical services organisation will work with Piedmont Healthcare to establish governance for its glycaemic management programme and to create performance and outcomes targets.

Glytec’s medical devices and software are patented and FDA-cleared to improve the safety and health of people with diabetes and make insulin a more effective medication option.

Spencer Welch, an endocrinologist at Piedmont Healthcare’s largest facility, Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, said: “Blood glucoses outside of the normal range can have a profound impact on patients’ recovery, length of stay, cost of care and readmission rates. Glytec’s software has been very effective in helping us maintain prescribed glucose targets, and as a result, incidence of severe hypoglycaemia less than 40 mg/dL -- which evidence shows is directly correlated to sentinel events -- has been extremely low.”

Andrew Rhinehart, Glytec’s chief medical officer and diabetologist, said: “Expanding use of eGMS will allow Piedmont Healthcare to adopt best practices across all of its acute care facilities.”