CheckPoint Wireless Temperature Monitoring Used at The Methodist Hospital System of Houston

June 3, 2011 - PRLog -- The Methodist Hospital System of Houston is four community hospitals and a leading academic center. Listed consistently in the U.S. News and World Report's top hospitals, the Methodist facilities are made up of an emergency care center, imaging center and outpatient center. They also have a research institute, foundation and physician organization. What follows is an interview with Julie O'Sullivan, a Project Specialist in lab operations in the Methodist Hospital system.

How many refrigerators or storage units are being monitored, and what are their contents?

We have nearly 200 pieces of equipment being monitored. They contain biological samples, chemicals, and a variety of research related kits. (They probably contain many other items as well, but those categories cover a lot of the contents)

What was the installation process like, and how long did it take?


The installation actually went very quickly. Since investigators were moving into a brand new building, we had two installation dates. One group needed immediate monitoring upon moving, so their equipment was set up for monitoring first (probably took 3-4 days in total). The next installation lasted about one week in total, if I remember correctly. There were two technicians who installed probes/sensors/APs/repeaters, and we had the assistance of our IT group. The installation went very smoothly

Are there differences for a research facility like yours in terms of temperature monitoring as compared to a hospital?

I think that the hospital has stricter requirements in terms of recordkeeping, especially for clinical research/clinical samples. I believe that they are required to keep a daily record of all temperatures (and they print up reports on a regular basis to show this). In the Research Institute, we are mainly concerned with keeping our samples, in particular, frozen samples, at the proper temperature for future use. Also, many biological reagents/kits are very sensitive to temperature changes, so it is especially important that the ultralow freezers (-80C) be maintained at the appropriate temperatures. We do not need to keep a daily record, per se, but investigators need to know immediately when a freezer temperature goes out of the desired range so that sensitive and unique samples can be moved to a new location if needed. Some samples take a great deal of expertise to collect and losing those samples means a great loss of research time for an investigator. An investigator could lose months, if not years, if important samples were lost.

Has the Checkpoint system decreased the number of alerts you were having with the previous system?

The alerts have decreased to some degree, but for the most part the alerts are due to equipment being in use (for example, an investigator has a freezer open for a prolonged period of time causing the temperature to rise above the set range) and those have not changed very much as far as I can tell.

What kind of reporting do you use to document how well the system is working?

I currently just log into the system daily to see if there are any alerts, and I ask others to do this as well. Many pieces of equipment have their own internal alarms (and many have audible alarms), so as long as they are working properly and the monitoring data match what the equipment is reading the investigators are happy. I have also made sure that the alarm system works by sending test emails/texts to confirm notification in the case of alarms. The investigators are mainly interested in dependable alarm notification.

About CheckPoint

CheckPoint is the most advanced wireless temperature monitoring system available, and is specifically designed to meet strict regulatory compliance for hospitals, life science, and other applications. Our clients use CheckPoint throughout their entire medical facilities, whether onsite, or in remote satellite buildings, including the pharmacy, laboratory, blood bank and nutrition department. The system can be deployed in any room, refrigerator, freezer, or incubator, as well as in any other type of temperature-sensitive equipment.

Just as important, the CheckPoint wireless temperature system is highly scalable, from a small, single facility to a complex, multi-location medical center like Kaiser Permanente or Sutter Health. The sensor is designed to be shock and water resistant, and can monitor temperatures down to -200º Celsius, as well as measure other values such as humidity, carbon dioxide, and air pressure. An unlimited number of wireless temperature sensors can be installed and data is continuously archived and recorded 24/7. The wireless system can immediately automatically email or text message alerts to any number of necessary personnel in the case of a temperature failure. Then fully document and guide the user through the corrective action processes necessary to meet regulatory and auditing requirements.


About Tempsys, Inc.:

Tempsys, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco, California, is the manufacturer of the Checkpoint Wireless Temperature Monitoring System. Customers include hospitals such as Stanford Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, Sutter Health and laboratories such as NASA Johnson Space Center and the FDA laboratories.

For further information about Tempsys Inc. and the Checkpoint Wireless Temperature Monitoring System, visit http://www.checkpointwireless.com/hospitals.htm
Copyright © 2011, TempSys. All rights reserved.

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Wireless temperature monitoring for hospitals, blood banks, clinics and other facilities such as pharmacies.