AltaPointe Health in Alabama has started using ObservSmart patient safety compliance technology at BayPointe Hospital, which treats paediatric psychiatric patients, and EastPointe Hospital, which cares for adults.

The goal is to ensure patient safety while reducing risk, errors and costs. An easy-to-use observation tool, ObservSsmart is a product from Pennsylvania-based InvisAlert, developed to improve patient safety and overall quality of care for high-risk patient populations.

“BayPointe Hospital provides more than 100,000 hospital services to children each year, and safety is our top priority,” said Jarrett Crum, chief hospital officer for AltaPointe Health. “Incorporating ObservSmart, the next generation of technology, into our daily patient observations helps us ensure patient safety while maintaining the highest quality of care.”

ObservSmart is a proximity-based system that syncs a patented, tamper-resistant wristband with a tablet to validate required patient observations, designed for higher acuity patient populations or patients in need of frequent monitoring. The staff member needs to be within a certain distance of the patient to validate their patient check.

The ObservSmart app provides real-time staff reminders to check on their patients. In addition, supervisors receive alerts for missed observations and additional safety concerns, allowing them to intervene in real time, mitigating the potential of risk.

“In today’s health care landscape, patients expect hospitals and health systems to provide high-quality care,” said Steve Dolan, vice president at AltaPointe Health. “Keeping our programmes on the cutting edge of technology allows us to meet and hopefully exceed those expectations.”

Christopher Dunn, senior vice president with ObservSmart, said he was looking forward to working in partnership with AltaPointe Health to improve patient safety, staff communications and accountability to provide the highest quality of care to its patients.

“Our technology aligns well with AltaPointe’s quality of care initiatives and the exceptional standards already in place,” said Dunn. “ObservSmart will help them in their quest to better assist those suffering from behavioural health challenges.”

InvisAlert was founded by two women who worked in the behavioural health field for more than thirty years. A pioneer in developing healthcare products that enhance patient care and quality improvement, the company leverages technology, people and processes to solve critical problems in high-risk healthcare settings. Its tools are designed to meet the demanding requirements of complex workflows, communications and safety compliance.

ObservSmart is its patient safety compliance tool that ensures safety by validating and documenting patient safety checks. Its proximity-based system ensures patients are observed at the required interval and appropriate distance, meeting the standard of care for high-risk or vulnerable patients.

Each year, AltaPointe Health provides more than a million services to 45,000 patients across Alabama. A specialist in behavioural health for more than 60 years, it expanded its service array in 2018 to include primary care.

Operated by AltaPointe, BayPointe Hospital is a free-standing psychiatric hospital that provides inpatient and residential treatment for children and adolescents with extremely challenging psychiatric and behavioural problems. Located in West Mobile in Alabama on a 15-acre campus, it offers short-term inpatient stabilisation and long-term treatment in a residential setting for ages five to eighteen.

EastPointe Hospital is an 82-bed facility in Daphne, offering a 66-bed adult inpatient crisis stabilisation unit and a 16-bed crisis residential unit. It specialises in treating mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, trauma, PTSD, personality disorders, and other thought and mood disorders.