To reinvigorate public interest in, and demand for, its Oldsmobile brand, General Motors Corp. aired a series of mass media commercials in the late 1980s with the slogan, “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile.”
Manufacturers of beds, stretchers, wheelchairs and related patient transport equipment (including lateral transfer mats and lifts) used in healthcare facilities could adapt that tagline for their own product lines, which through technological development have progressed quite a bit during the last few decades, thereby become “smarter” than they’ve ever been.
Historically, these workhorses of patient care represented passive vehicles used to handling two basic functions — holding or “storing” patients and moving them between locations, typically powered by humans pushing them along.
They still do that, of course. But the vendors have added a variety of other capabilities over the years that have transformed what now might have been classified as “base models” into well-equipped luxury and performance vehicles, albeit convertibles with their open tops.
Some wheelchairs come equipped with motors for automatic driving, some beds with hydraulics for assisted lifting as well as electronics for patient-controlled adjustments in height, head and foot sections in particular. Some patient transfer equipment models offer dual functionality in serving as chair to exam table, wheelchair to stretcher. Some beds and stretchers may come equipped with specialized mattresses (air, foam, gel interiors, etc.) that conform to body shape and type while supporting extensions and weight and distributing pressure evenly through patient positioning for improved blood flow. Bed and mattress models also can specialize for certain clinical areas, such as the behavioral healthcare or intensive care units, hospital rooms, long-term care facilities, as well as for clinical procedures, ranging from mammography/biopsy to birthing to plastic surgery to video fluoroscopy.
“HoverTech International was one of the pioneers for air-assisted lateral transfer devices and the inventor of the first disposable version of this technology, the HoverMatt Single-Patient Use Air Transfer System,” said Isabelle Werkheiser, HoverTech’s Vice President of Marketing & Business Development. “With the HoverMatt, the HoverTech air supply inflates the transfer mattress to cushion and cradle the patient. At the same time, air escapes through perforations on the bottom side of the transfer mattess to reduce the friction between the bed or stretcher and patient and allow for easy lateral patient transfers and positioning.” The HoverMatt for patient transferring and repositioning has been available for more than 20 years. The product is designed to reduce the pull force required by at least 80 percent compared to using a draw sheet and manual handling. In more recent years, it has allowed healthcare facilities to comply with OSHA lifting requirements and state legislation that requires mechanized patient handling equipment, according to HoverTech.
LINET Americas promotes ease-of-use and user-friendliness as key bed attributes.
“LINET has designed a unique purpose-built bed that allows one caregiver to complete many of the basic functions at the bedside that might routinely require multiple caregivers,” said Beth Linger, Product Manager. “One nurse can safely turn and reposition a patient using the bed frame to assist. The design of the frame, not the mattress, is the foundation for this design. The lateral turning frame revolutionizes turning and repositioning for prevention of pressure injury, off-loads pressure in incremental degrees to accomplish micro-shifting for those patients too unstable to tolerate a full manual turn, enables the safe egress and ambulation of patients by lowering the frame using the tilt to achieve ‘nose over toes’ position, facilitates the use of gravity to accomplish the earliest of mobility goals for physical therapy. The lateral tilt can be used during various procedures to help with positioning, and patients report they are more comfortable than other standard bed frames, raving about the many unique positions that can be achieved to assist with non-pharmacologic pain management.”
Werkeiser envisions multifunctionality as a key element in the next generation of beds and patient transfer devices.
“Overall, companies that innovate and develop patient handling products that can perform multiple tasks will have a strategic advantage,” she told Healthcare Purchasing News. “These new hybrid products will allow staff to streamline product selection, save time and reduce cost. Also, there have been advances in textile technology that will reduce the risk of pressure injuries. These advanced textiles will assist facilities in providing better care for the patient, reduce never events, and maximize their Medicare reimbursement.”
For LINET Americas, bed development remains foundational, if not fundamental, because of its intricate connection to healthcare.
“Hospital beds are the one piece of equipment that anyone, regardless of their illness, will be intimately connected with through their whole stay at the hospital,” Linger noted. “It is also the one piece of equipment that every staff member will utilize at every interaction with a hospital patient. With all this interaction there are many opportunities for the bed to assist in the treatment and well-being of the patient. These opportunities range from simplified controls to monitoring of both the bed status and the patient’s status. Being able to transmit and analyze data from the bed will help deliver better care to patients, allow staff to monitor the safety status of the bed, maintenance to proactively address repair issues and for hospital administrators an opportunity to aggregate this information for future decision. The ‘smart’ bed will continue to get smarter and each successive generation will provide more data to improve patient care.”
Perhaps the most significant changes brought to beds and other patient transfer equipment is the incorporation of electronic capabilities as well as the use of different materials to accommodate ergonomic and infection prevention concerns and bariatric patients.
Pedigo Products Inc., for example, introduced transport stretcher side rails manufactured from CuVerro bactericidal copper, noted Tom Hillebrand, Pedigo’s Vice President, Sales & Marketing. “The stretcher side rail is a ‘high-touch’ surface in any healthcare facility and is a real challenge to keep clean because the stretcher is on wheels and moves around the hospital. CuVerro bactericidal copper starts to kills harmful bacteria immediately and completes the kill within two hours.”
One bed accessory is the IV stand, which routinely accompanies the patient, so it must be durable, efficient and safe, according to Lauren Pedigo, Associate Product Manager. That’s why her company launched Pedigo’s Element IV stand, which includes a “Clearstep” base that “is ergonomically designed for easy ambulation while also allowing the bases to interlock for easy transport and storage of multiple stands,” she noted. “The Clearview hook allows the caregiver to see all labels at once, eliminating twisting and tangles of the IV lines.”
Government studies propelled some of this development. In fact, between January 1985 and January 2013, the Food and Drug Administration received 901 incidents of patients caught, trapped, entangled, or strangled in hospital beds, according to FDA. The reports included 531 deaths, 151 nonfatal injuries, and 220 cases where staff needed to intervene to prevent injuries. Most patients were frail, elderly or confused, the FDA added.
As a result, the FDA and the Hospital Bed Safety Workgroup released the “Hospital Bed System Dimensional and Assessment Guidance to Reduce Entrapment” in 2006 (https://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/GeneralHospitalDevicesandSupplies/HospitalBeds/default.htm) with recommendations for manufacturers of beds and providers that use them.
Several research firms peg the bed market through 2022 as relatively healthy, particularly in the hospital segment for acute care, critical care and long-term care beds, due to the aging population, prevalence of chronic disease and demand for technological advancements to accommodate these patients. Cost continues as a determining factor.
Rick Dana Barlow | Senior Editor
Rick Dana Barlow is Senior Editor for Healthcare Purchasing News, an Endeavor Business Media publication. He can be reached at [email protected].
