Tri Valley Health System Automates Product Alert Management Using RASMAS

Feb. 13, 2008 - PRLog -- The Tri Valley Health System, which is based in Cambridge, Nebraska, has selected the Risk And Safety Management Alert System (RASMAS), developed by Noblis, Inc., to manage product alerts and recalls. Its flagship facility, Cambridge Memorial Hospital, is a licensed critical-access hospital serving the city and surrounding areas. The Tri Valley Health System also includes several satellite medical clinics and an adjoining nursing home, assisted living facility, and retirement community.

RASMAS is a web-based service that automates the distribution, receipt, and tracking of product alerts and recalls. It provides centralized oversight for alerts spanning across all products used in the healthcare environment. Alerts are gathered from numerous sources, delivered to the customer, and routed to the appropriate individuals according to a specified plan. Managers can readily see the status of each alert, and obtain summary statistics regarding close-out time.

The initiative to deploy RASMAS was headed by Kris Nelson, Safety & Emergency Preparedness Officer at the Tri Valley Health System. "The health system where I had worked prior to joining Tri Valley had become a RASMAS customer while I was there," she noted. "Since I was familiar with the benefits of the system, I suggested to our CEO that we consider using it at Tri Valley." After investigating the product, management at Tri Valley concurred, and RASMAS was rolled out.  

"Before RASMAS, we did not have a consistent method for receiving and tracking alerts," observed Nelson. "I was concerned that something might slip through without receiving the attention needed to ensure the safety of our patients." The installation proceeded smoothly, and training went well for the seven responders who learned the system. "The most rewarding moment was when the first alert came through on RASMAS and it was a device we were actually using," recalled Nelson. "At that point we knew for sure that the investment was worthwhile."

Cambridge Memorial Hospital is a small facility, with just 25 beds. "The fact that RASMAS is feasible for even a modest-sized hospital in a rural setting shows that such facilities can be highly competitive in terms of safety and quality of patient care," pointed out Ann Magee, RN, BSN, RASMAS Community Manager at Noblis. "Too often, managers at small facilities assume that a sophisticated service such as RASMAS is out of reach, but that’s not the case."


Recall management is conducted manually in most U.S. hospitals.  Over 2,500 alerts are typically released each year, and all require review and attention by hospital staff.  The RASMAS service automates many of the tasks and supports workflow activities to ensure the alert is managed expediently.

Noblis welcomes the Tri Valley Health System to the growing RASMAS user community.  Subscribers report that using RASMAS has resulted, on average, in an 80 percent reduction in alert processing time, and a dramatic decrease in the number of days from notification to removal of products from use.  Such time-saving efforts will ensure that patients at Tri Valley facilities continue to receive the highest quality of healthcare delivery possible.

About Tri Valley Health System
Cambridge Memorial Hospital was established in 1958 as a result of a bequest from John Decker, Hill-Burton Funds, and a fund drive by area residents who saw the need for locally based quality health care. Cambridge Memorial Hospital and Health Center grew to include clinics to provide health care in surrounding communities. In the early 1990s, this health care network became the Tri Valley Health System, one of the most comprehensive rural health systems in the country. Its mission is to be the health care provider of choice and a lifelong health resource for southwest Nebraska and northwest Kansas. Its services include a wide range of surgical and rehabilitative options, assisted living at a variety of levels of care, and a telemedicine educational program.

About Noblis
RASMAS was developed by Noblis, a nonprofit science, technology and strategy organization that helps clients solve complex scientific, systems, process and infrastructure problems in ways that benefit the public. Noblis brings the best of scientific thought, management and engineering know-how to find solutions that are practical, efficient, and effective. Noblis projects cover many fields, including national security; transportation; health care; citizen services; energy and the environment; and oceans, atmosphere and space.

For more information about Noblis: noblis.org
For more information about RASMAS: http://rasmas.noblis.org | 877-727-6276

Website: rasmas.noblis.org