Electronic patient sitter management system and method for implementing

A method for managing an electronic sitter system for monitoring patients, the electronic sitter system comprising a plurality of sitter devices, a sitter management device for managing access to at least one real-time patient surveillance video stream associated with a patient room, and, located in patient rooms, a plurality of cameras for capturing and transmitting surveillance video streams and a plurality of sensors for capturing other data in the patient rooms, the method comprising:

• receiving, at the sitter management device, availability information from a plurality of sitter devices;
• selecting, at the sitter management device, a first sitter device from the plurality of sitter devices based on the availability information to receive a first real-time patient surveillance video stream from a first patient room;
• receiving, at the first sitter device, the real-time patient surveillance video stream and displaying the first real-time patient surveillance video stream at the first sitter device, wherein the first sitter device receives the first real-time patient surveillance video stream regardless of whether an alert is received by the first sitter device;
• receiving sensor data captured from a sensor located in the first patient room;
• and
• receiving the alert at the first sitter device from the sitter management device, wherein the alert is triggered based on the sensor data and is received at the first sitter device subsequent to its receiving the real-time patient surveillance video stream.

An electronic sitter management system coupled to real-time patient surveillance network, said real-time patient surveillance network comprising, located in patient rooms, a plurality of video cameras for transmitting a real-time patient surveillance video stream and a plurality of sensors for capturing other data, each of the plurality of video cameras aimed at an interior of the respective patient room, the electronic sitter management system comprising:

• a plurality of sitter devices, each sitter device comprising:
• a video display for displaying at least one real-time patient surveillance video stream;
• a sitter interface object for receiving a sitter interaction and for generating a sitter interaction signal;
• a network connection for receiving the at least one real-time patient surveillance video stream and for transmitting identification information to the sitter management device, wherein the sitter device receives the at least one real-time patient surveillance video stream regardless of whether an alert is received by the sitter device;
• and
• a sitter management device comprising:
• a patient assignment component for receiving availability information from a plurality of sitter devices, and for selecting a first sitter device from the plurality of sitter devices based on the availability information to receive the at least one first real-time patient surveillance video stream from a first patient room;
• and
• an alert component for receiving sensor data captured from a sensor located in the first patient room and generating the alert based on the sensor data, wherein the alert is triggered based on the sensor data and is received at the first sitter device subsequent to its receiving the real-time patient surveillance video stream.

A method for managing an electronic sitter system for monitoring patients, the electronic sitter system comprising a plurality of sitter devices, a sitter management device for managing access to at least one real-time patient surveillance video stream associated with a patient room, and, located in patient rooms, a plurality of cameras for capturing and transmitting surveillance video streams to the sitter management device and a plurality of sensors for capturing other data in the patient rooms, the method comprising:

• the sitter management device selecting a first sitter device from the plurality of sitter devices to receive a first real-time patient surveillance video stream of a first patient room;
• receiving, at the first sitter device, the real-time patient surveillance video stream and displaying the first real-time patient surveillance video stream at the first sitter device, wherein the first sitter device receives the first real-time patient surveillance video stream regardless of whether an alert is received by the first sitter device;
• receiving sensor data captured from a sensor located in the first patient room;
• analyzing, at the sitter management device, the sensor data;
• and
• receiving the alert at the first sitter device from the sitter management device, wherein the alert is triggered based on the sensor data and is received at the first sitter device subsequent to its receiving the first real-time patient surveillance video stream.