PeriGen Announces Partnership with University of Utah Hospital for PeriCALM Evidence-based Fetal Strip Interpretation

CRANBURY, N.J., Sept. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- In a decision aimed at enhancing patient safety and improving outcomes while fulfilling its mission as a teaching institution, University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City today entered into an agreement to purchase PeriGen's^® PeriCALM^® solution suite for labor and delivery (L&D).  

University Hospital, licensed for 770 beds, delivers nearly 4,000 babies annually. The Intermountain West's only academic healthcare system will install PeriCALM Patterns™, Curve™ and Retrospective Patterns solutions into all 39 monitored locations providing L&D comprehensive services this winter.   

While several factors led to PeriCALM's selection to replace University Hospital's current electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) system, PeriGen's built-in evidence-based pattern recognition software caught the attention of its obstetrics leaders.  PeriCALM Patterns objectively analyzes tracings from standard EFM systems in real time to measure fetal heart rate accelerations and decelerations as well as uterine contractions. PeriCALM is the only perinatal pattern recognition software validated by the National Institutes for Health (NIH). 

"Interpreting fetal strip tracings has always been subjective, even for experienced nurses and physicians," said Bernice Tenort, R.N., nurse manager at University Hospital. "As a teaching hospital we have the added challenge of many clinicians rotating through our unit at different stages of their education and experience levels ─ University of Utah resident physicians and nursing students, attendings and fellows. PeriCALM's patented pattern recognition coupled with its easy-to-read visual alerts replaces subjectivity with data, creating a common language among all clinicians."

Tenort and Rita Aguilar, R.N., BSN, MBA, nursing director at University Hospital, noted the pattern recognition confidence factor to help reduce subjectivity when nurses and physicians collaborate while managing labor for obstetrical patients.

"When we saw the built-in pattern recognition and the visual cues, we believed PeriGen's solution was worthy of serious consideration," recalled Aguilar. "University Hospital has achieved a great deal with patient safety and alerts in other areas. PeriCALM gave us the opportunity to do the same in L&D with fetal surveillance, while adding a teaching tool to help shorten the discussion time and improve the dialog between nurses and physicians at all levels. The tool empowers our perinatal nurses to move the case forward providing the right intervention at the right time."

The PeriCALM implementation includes an interface connecting the hospital's Epic acute electronic health record (EHR) system.  PeriCALM's obstetrics data will flow to Epic's Stork OB/GYN application, eliminating the need for double documentation.

The selection of PeriCALM by University Hospital is a significant win for PeriGen. The medical facility's parent company, University of Utah Health Care, is consistently ranked in the top 10 of academic medical centers in the country, and in 2014 was named best hospital in the Salt Lake City metro area by U.S. News and World Report.

The hospital's OB/GYN facilities include a full neonatal center, considered the hub for baby care across the region. Infants in need of more advanced care are frequently transported there from other providers.

"It is an exceptionally high honor to partner with University of Utah Hospital, nationally acclaimed for setting the standard regionally for excellence in comprehensive prenatal care," said PeriGen CEO Matthew Sappern. "L&D typically is the first- or second-highest risk area in a hospital, so the OB clinician's ability to make the right decisions about the right care at the right time is crucial for a healthy outcome. We're proud to assist the prestigious health institution serve the people of Utah with our world-class advanced obstetrics technology along with helping train the next generation of OB physicians and nurses."

About University of Utah Hospital

University of Utah Health Care is the Intermountain West's only academic health care system, combining excellence in patient care, the latest in medical research, and teaching to provide leading-edge medicine in a caring and personal setting. The system provides care for Utahns and residents of five surrounding states in a referral area encompassing more than 10 percent of the continental United States. University of Utah Health Care is consistently ranked among US News & World Report's Best Hospitals, and its academic partners at the University of Utah School of Medicine and Colleges of Nursing, Pharmacy, and Health are internationally regarded research and teaching institutions. For more information, please go to http://healthcare.utah.edu/hospital/.

About PeriGen, Inc.

PeriGen, Inc., is an innovative provider of fetal surveillance systems employing patented, pattern-recognition and obstetrics technologies that empower perinatal clinicians to make confident, real-time decisions about the mothers and babies in their care. PeriGen's customer-centric team of clinicians and technologists builds the most advanced systems available to augment obstetric decision-making and improve communications among the clinical team at the point of care, while supporting data flow between healthcare IT systems.  PeriGen offers the only FDA-cleared EFM pattern recognition system that is validated by the NICHD. Visit us at www.PeriGen.com.

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SOURCE PeriGen