PeriGen Congratulates MedStar Franklin's Kari Bunting Earning Dual Honors at Summer Institute in Nursing Informatics 2014

CRANBURY, N.J., July 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- PeriGen, the global leader in applying real-time clinical decision support to obstetrical systems, proudly congratulates Kari Bunting, M.S., R.N.C.-O.B., C.-E.F.M., clinical nurse specialist, Labor and Delivery, at MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center on being selected for two distinguished nursing informatics honors.  Bunting will deliver a podium presentation on her groundbreaking research which also earned her the Sharon Coleman Memorial Award at the University of Maryland School of Nursing's (UM) Summer Institute in Nursing Informatics (SINI) 2014 in Baltimore.         

In her presentation titled "Successful IT Initiative to Reduce the Rate of Excessive Uterine Contractions During Labor," Bunting will describe the 'before' and 'after' results of a research program to help clinicians with early recognition and remediation of overly frequent episodes of uterine tachysystole (UT)­ in labors induced or augmented by oxytocin. Devised to improve the health outcomes of newborns, the retrospective study was aided by PeriGen's PeriCALM® Patterns electronic fetal monitor (EFM) solution embedded with pattern recognition software. 

Bunting will present the study's conclusive findings co-authored with Samuel Smith, M.D., MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center executive chairman, and Emily Hamilton, M.D.C.M, PeriGen senior vice president of clinical research, from 10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. Eastern on Friday, July 18. SINI, in its 24^th year, is held July 16 to 18.  

Bunting's abstract describing the research study will also be published in an upcoming issue of the CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing (CIN) Journal.

The Sharon Coleman Memorial Award recognizes outstanding contributions to the science of nursing informatics in the area of research. Bunting's abstract received the highest scores from SINI, which led to her selection for this award.

Study Tracks Impressive Clinical Changes

Oxytocin, a drug that stimulates uterine contractions, is used in more than half of U.S. births to induce or augment labor. Generally administered without incident, roughly one in five women will develop UT – overly frequent contractions that can decrease oxygen delivery to the fetus. Although most babies tolerate brief episodes of UT, a small number will develop permanent brain injury. Hospitals then risk multimillion-dollar lawsuits.

Using data from its electronic medical record and digitized fetal monitoring records, MedStar Franklin demonstrated through research that UT alone was not a reliable predictor of poor outcomes. In contrast, fetal heart rate decelerations in conjunction with contractions were strongly associated. The introduction of PeriCALM Patterns helped clinicians detect at a glance whether UT was present, persistent, and/or associated with worrisome fetal heart rate patterns.  

"Over the study's course of four years, UT was reduced by 36.5 percent in women receiving oxytocin. This is a substantial and exceptional achievement," said Dr. Hamilton. "Thankfully, the incidence of brain injury in infants with UT is small.  However, UT is largely avoidable and it is important not to place babies at increased risk of injury because of it."     

"We congratulate Kari and the entire MedStar obstetrical team for embracing real-time EFM pattern recognition technology to help bedside clinicians quickly gain a complete picture of the patient's status. Timely recognition and correct interventions can mean the difference between a healthy baby and potentially tragic complications," she continued.

SINI has been organized by the University of Maryland School of Nursing as an annual event for the past quarter-century. It features distinguished lectures, invited speakers, and peer-reviewed presentations. The conference is widely recognized for offering the greatest depth and breadth of evidence-based nursing informatics practice and research presentations.

About MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center
MedStar Franklin Square Medical Center is a not-for-profit 378-bed community teaching hospital located in the White Marsh section of eastern Baltimore County, Maryland. MedStar Franklin Square provides many medical and healthcare services, including a broad range of healthcare specialties, advanced technologies and treatments not traditionally found at community hospitals. The hospital is ranked third in admissions among all Maryland hospitals and is first in Emergency Department visits with more than 108,000 visits annually. MedStar Franklin Square is accredited by the Joint Commission and certified as a Primary Stroke Center and has earned some of the nation's most prestigious quality awards including Magnet Designation for excellence in nursing, the Excellence Award for Quality Improvement from the Delmarva Foundation and inclusion in the U.S. News & World Report Best Hospital specialty ranking for four consecutive years. With more than 3,300 employees, MedStar Franklin Square is one of the largest employers in Baltimore County. Visit www.medstarfranklin.org for more information.

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 is a KLAS^® recognized leader in the obstetrics/perinatal space is offers the only EFM pattern recognition system that is validated by the NICHD. For more information, please visit us at www.PeriGen.com.

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SOURCE PeriGen