1st Automatic saves time at Swedish ICU

The Thorax Intensive Care Unit at the Skåne University Hospital reaps the benefits of Radiometer’s 1st Automatic solution. By automating blood gas testing, the ICU nurses eliminate waiting for results and get more time for patient care.

The Thorax Intensive Care Unit has 18 beds and measures 35,000 blood gas samples on a yearly basis.

"With 1st Automatic we scan and link together samples and patient IDs at the bedside. Then we just place the samples in the queue of the blood gas analyzer. The samples are automatically analyzed and the results are transferred directly to our data management system", says Lina, ICU nurse, Thorax Intensive Care Unit.

With this set-up each nurse can save at least 5-10 minutes every morning: "The advantage is that we save time especially during the morning routines. As a nurse I get more time to attend to other tasks such as changing the IV catheter and checking the liquid balance."

          

"When it comes to patient safety, the advantage of 1st Automatic is that we can link together the syringe and the patient ID at the bedside. This saves time. We don’t have to wait for results by the analyzer. The time aspect is definitely the number one advantage. The second is that we reduce preanalytical errors, as the samples are mixed correctly", says Lina.