Bedside vital signs capture for the non-ICU setting--an open source, PC-based solution

The efficient and reliable capture of vital signs and other bedside data in the non-ICU setting has been a challenging problem for the medical informatics community. The problem is compounded by the complexities associated with storage of this data into an electronic medical record system (EMRS). There are a lack of off-the-shelf solutions that satisfy the basic system requirements of bedside data capture, user authentication, data validation prior to storage, error handling, and convenience. With the current state of technology available, we feel the solution to this problem requires the presence of a PC with custom interface software at the bedside. This allows for the successful interface between available vital signs capture devices, existing EMRS s, and the user. This report summarizes the alternatives we found and our proposed solution to this important problem.