Meeting Compliance Regulations

COVID-19 undoubtedly put enough strain on hospitals and health systems throughout 2020. That’s why, when one acute care hospital in New York state experienced challenges meeting regulatory requirements for laboratory refrigeration and freezer temperature monitoring, they needed an easy solution.

Meeting Compliance Regulations with Primex Solutions

“After being cited for inaccurate temperature monitoring documentation, ensuring this never happened again became a high priority,” said this hospital’s applications analyst and project manager. “We needed a solution that did two things: proactively address any potential issues and standardize documentation across all areas of the hospital.”

Luckily, around this time, the hospital had a new staff member who was familiar with just the solution: Primex OneVue Sense™ environmental monitoring sensors and the Primex OneVue® web-based software platform.

Sensor Selection and Installation

Hospital leadership selected three different sensors for monitoring use: temperature, differential pressure, and humidity. These sensors automatically measure their specific environment at routine intervals and send that data to the cloud-based OneVue software platform. Within that platform, which is accessible on any device with a web browser, users can see realtime data measurements and past data logs and have the ability to run customizable reports.

Managers within multiple departments had to determine what type of sensors they needed and how many of each. Despite some staff turnover during this time, a Primex-created spreadsheet made the decision process easy

“That spreadsheet was a godsend,” the applications analyst and project manager said. “It was fantastic being able to send that out to managers with clearly labeled directions that asked them to fill out what items in their department needed monitoring and under what parameters. And when there were questions, I reached out to the Primex team and got answers to those questions for my team within a few hours. The tool and the accessibility of the Primex team were both fantastic.”

Widespread Usability

The completed spreadsheet provided answers as to what departments and managers needed sensors within the hospital. OneVue Sense sensors can now be found in:

• Laboratory refrigerators and freezers to monitor medication temperatures
• Pharmacy areas to monitor medication temperatures and the pressure in which they are stored
• Operating rooms to monitor air pressure and humidity levels to help ensure proper surgical conditions

If the temperature, pressure, or humidity measurements in any of these environments fall below or rise above the hospital’s customized parameters, alerts can be sent by text message, phone call, or email to inform users that corrective actions are needed. All sensors automatically log and send measurements into the cloud-based OneVue software platform for easy web browser viewing and on-demand report generation, which makes audits and compliance simple and straightforward.

In addition to those locations, the hospital also uses Primex OneVue sensors and the software platform to monitor, report on, and safeguard the COVID-19 vaccine. Leaders were preparing for the ultracold-storage-needing Pfizer vaccine but received the Moderna vaccine, which requires more standard temperature storage, earlier than expected. The hospital’s existing Primex technology, which includes NIST-certified temperature probes, can monitor and provide reports for both.

“We met to discuss storage temperature requirements for both vaccines just in case,” the applications analyst and project manager said. “Then we learned that we’d be getting the Moderna vaccine the very next day. The pharmacy director quickly came to me and said he needed proper storage temperature documentation several times a day and also a daily report. Within two minutes of looking into the reporting section on the OneVue platform, we put together the exact report he needed.

Reliable Tools for Easy Compliance

Despite having to overcome challenges related to staff turnover and stretched resources due to COVID-19, leaders and staff at this acute care hospital couldn’t be happier with the monitoring, alerting, and reporting solutions that the Primex OneVue system provides. The hospital’s medication and vaccine storage units are now properly monitored, and reporting on environmental monitoring has been standardized throughout the hospital. Primex solutions have helped the hospital meet all regulatory requirements.

“You don’t always get everything that is offered to you during sales discussions,” the applications analyst and project manager said. “But the Primex OneVue system has been providing everything that was advertised to us. The monitoring and reporting capabilities are fantastic, and we look forward to discovering more helpful tips and tricks as time goes on.”