Electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring serves an essential role in the care and treatment of patients with neurological conditions, especially those who are critically ill. By recording data on brain wave patterns and activity, EEG monitoring allows clinicians to assess patient status, diagnose issues, and even predict potential complications.
However, a shortage of EEG technologists and the demand for monitoring can create conditions for burnout among available techs. Remote EEG monitoring helps solve this issue and has a number of benefits for patients as well.
Benefits of Remote EEG Monitoring
EEG is often used to detect seizures, especially those that are nonconvulsive, but it also provides a window into consciousness disorders, coma, sedation response, encephalopathy, sepsis, and traumatic brain injury. It can also indicate the potential for ischemia in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage and aid in assessing the prognosis of patients after cardiac arrest. For patients with chronic neurological conditions or who are at risk of adverse neurological complications, EEG monitoring can be vital for treatment and result in more positive outcomes.
Continuous EEG monitoring in a hospital setting is necessitated, but has its drawbacks. EEG technologists are difficult to find and can often be stretched thin with multiple responsibilities within the hospital. They are often required to cross train in multiple modalities and be available for daytime hours as well as provide on-call coverage for nights, weekends and holidays. It is very challenging to staff and maintain around the clock coverage to provide the 24/7 patient care that these critically ill patients require.
In lieu of this, remote EEG monitoring presents a host of advantages:
- EEG technologists in the hospital can focus on providing quality setups and more efficient patient care while remote staff can handle the eyes on components of monitoring.
- A streamlined workflow for EEG techs reduces burnout and turnover, resulting in improved staff satisfaction and fewer gaps or delays in patient care.
- Remote EEG monitoring uses up fewer hospital resources, which can be critical when those resources and personnel are already in high demand.
The American Electroencephalographic Society (ASET) recognizes that a lack of 24/7 EEG monitoring affects patient outcomes. They recommend outsourcing to remote EEG services when possible to prevent tech burnout, preserve resources, and maintain the continuity of patient care.
Get Remote EEG Monitoring Support
Are you interested in providing continuous EEG monitoring on a remote basis? SpecialtyCare can assist your hospital by supplementing your current EEG services with remote monitoring that will help you reduce burnout among your techs and save necessary resources. Our highly experienced and trained EEG technologists can interpret data in real time, allowing for rapid notifications of adverse events which results in more timely interventions for patients. We want to help you provide the best possible care for your patients and ensure that you can retain critical staff. Our remote EEG monitoring services can support your healthcare system and help you improve patient outcomes. Contact us today to learn more!
