A holistic obstetrical care solution

The View was determined to elevate its obstetrical care capabilities to a level that would allow it to compete with other hospitals in the region. As Eyad Melhem, Clinical Application Leader for Hospital Patient Monitoring at Philips (META) explains, “The goal was to achieve continuous monitoring for the mother and the fetus(es) across the continuum of the pregnancy. At the same time, The View wanted to enable instant access to maternal and fetal traces and data, whether the clinician was at the bedside, on the nursing station, or working remotely [via the hospital’s LAN network].”

The first step was to offer The View a remote visit to Philips’s virtual Customer Visitor Center (CVC), which showcased Philips’ vision and roadmap for obstetrical care. It quickly became clear there was complete alignment between this vision and the ambitions of the hospital team.

The initial scope of the collaboration had been to deliver fetal monitoring equipment. But in the end, Philips was chosen to provide the entire monitoring solution for the hospital. This comprised Avalon CL fetal monitoring systems, but also encompassed the IntelliSpace Perinatal obstetrics information management solution.

At every step, Eyad Melhem and his team of local clinical application specialists were able to offer practical assistance and support, in a collaborative and consultative process. As Mr. Melhem explains, “We earned the customer’s trust by showing that it’s not only about the technology. For example, we worked together with them – virtually and on-site – to configure and customize the whole solution.”

As Halima Ali, Nurse Manager for Obstetrics, Labor & Delivery at The View, explains, “Our partnership with the clinical applications team at Philips has been instrumental from the very beginning because they’re just one phone call away whenever we have any technical issues or if we need further education support for the staff.”

During labor and delivery, the Avalon CL cableless fetal monitors help enable freedom of movement for mothers. As The View’s Dr. Mazen Bishtawi, Head of Obstetrics & Gynecology, observes, “Classically, women used to be bound to the bed for several hours during labor and childbirth, until their baby was delivered. With Avalon cableless monitoring, the woman can sit on the couch or move freely around the room.”

Halima Ali echoes Dr. Bishtawi’s sentiments, adding, “Wireless monitoring allows our patients to use the birthing ball and to remain upright during labor, which is something that we actively encourage as midwives. The transducer is also waterproof[1], which allows patients to use it in the pool or the shower.”

Alongside these benefits, Avalon monitoring also contributes to improved patient care by providing real-time monitoring to track the baby’s wellbeing, via Smart Pulse technology[2]. And as Halima Ali remarks, “The in-built cross-channel verification (CCV) system also helps me as a clinician by helping me to differentiate between maternal pulse and the fetal heart rate.”

IntelliSpace Perinatal smoothly integrates with the Avalon fetal monitoring system and enables remote access to traces – which aids fast response times by empowering clinicians to monitor patient data in real time. As Dr. Bishtawi explains, “I like this feature [ISP] because it enables us to remotely monitor our patients from the station, from our workspaces or even from a mobile phone. It helps our workflow and has direct benefits for patients and staff.”

IntelliSpace Perinatal allows Dr. Bishtawi and his colleagues to review and compare fetal monitoring traces during pregnancy and childbirth – supporting streamlined communication among teams. This reflects the bespoke approach that Philips’ local clinical application teams used when implementing the solution at The View. “The Philips team helped us in customizing and optimizing ISP so that it fitted our clinical workflows,” Halima Ali explains.

Ms. Ali also highlights the benefits of the integrated fetal non-stress-test functionality[3], which helps the obstetrics team incorporate fetal wellbeing assessments into their clinical decision-making. At the same time, she adds, “Automated data transfer (ADT) from the fetal monitor to the ISP to the hospital’s electronic medical record (EMR) saves me time from having to enter the information in three different systems and allows me to spend more time with my patients.”

Overall, the holistic obstetrical solution at The View has helped the hospital achieve its goals of creating an elevated experience for staff and patients. As Dr. Bishtawi summarizes, “We have the vision of getting the best technology that provides the best experience for patients and for our staff. And that’s why we choose our partnership with Philips in our obstetrical care solutions.”

As The View continues to evolve its capacity and capabilities, Mr. Melhem concludes: “The team at The View frequently ask us about new features, and they know that Philips is the vendor of choice that will help them to scale up their practice and grow as well. Looking ahead, the sky is the limit.”