Where are nurse call systems required

Nurse call systems, also recognized as Emergency Call Systems, are specialty electronic systems used to improve communiqué between patients and healthcare providers in hospitals, assisted living, independent living, rehabilitation centers, and senior skilled care settings. Nurse call systems supplied by Nurse Call System Suppliers have precise performance necessities so that they will function when they are required. In a hospital setting, nurse call systems must conform with the UL 1069 standard dubbed “Hospital Signaling and Nurse Call Equipment.” UL1069 conforms with all applicable articles of the NFPA70 National Electrical Code and NFPA99 Health Care Facility Code. NFPA 101 Life Safety Code 18.1.1.1.2 and 3 sets the important requirement for nurse call systems, in that it describes a hospital as a building “where inhabitants sleep but are not reasonably able to vacate themselves in an emergency.” Nurse call systems fulfill the code acquiescence role in a standards-based emergency signaling system required for patients who are immovable or confined to a bed and are not reasonably able to vacate themselves in an emergency.

Identifying the position of nurse call systems in patient care, the FDA has categorized them as Class I medical machines if the nurse call system electronically transfers, stores, adapts, or displays medical device data. The FDA is calling these kinds of nurse call systems Medical Device Data Schemes, or MDDS. As recognized by the FDA, present nurse call systems that are available with Nurse Call System Suppliers are increasing in their scope and capability beyond communication between patients and healthcare providers to include interfaces into VoIP, Real-Time-Location Systems, Patient Monitoring, and assimilating with Smart Beds to forestall and alert before a patient fall occurs. Some nurse call systems embrace software features like Event Reporting and statistical information about Staff Throughput, Time at the Point-of-Care, and Call Response Times. Nurse call systems are amalgamating communication between patients and healthcare providers, allowing new Quality Processes and Workflow Improvements in support of patient care.