Pediatrics Practice Tracks Vaccine Temperatures with BLE Data Loggers
A Louisiana concierge pediatrics practice employs Onset InTemp Bluetooth Low Energy vaccine temperature loggers to ensure patient safety
Concierge medical practices are growing in popularity as both patients and physicians seek a more personalized approach to healthcare. However, to thrive, these practices need to provide patients a quality of care equal or superior to that of larger health clinics. An important part of that quality is ensuring the safety and efficacy of vaccines.
Few physicians understand this better than Dr. Kortney West, who founded the West Pediatrics concierge practice after working at a traditional pediatric clinic where the volume of patients limited the level of individualized care that doctors were able to provide. West Pediatrics, which serves the greater Baton Rouge area, now offers customized, 24/7 availability to services and support for a monthly membership fee. Those services include home visits where Dr. West is vaccinating children against a range of diseases.
“I have between one to three house visits per day, and I store the vaccines at my office, so I need to make sure that their temperatures are stable before beginning my rounds,” Dr. West said.
To maintain the proper temperature of vaccines, West Pediatrics relies on Onset InTemp CX400 Series VFC data loggers for accurate and reliable temperature monitoring. The loggers are designed specifically to meet all the requirements of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Vaccines for Children program, as well as international vaccine storage guidelines.
“Maintaining the quality of vaccines is really important because it’s not just about the monetary investment; it’s also about establishing trust with my patients,” said West. “It’s reassuring to know that the InTemp loggers are designed to simplify compliance with the CDC vaccine temperature monitoring guidelines, so I can ensure patient safety.”
At the same time, as a sole practitioner, Dr. West needs a vaccine temperature monitoring solution that is both easy to set up and use. The InTemp CX402-VFC data logger addresses this requirement by taking advantage of Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for wireless mobile communications. So no computer cables or software are required. During monitoring, temperature checks and alerts from the data loggers can be accessed wirelessly from a mobile phone or tablet using Onset’s free InTemp mobile application. The company also offers the InTemp Gateway app for Android, which enables remote alert notifications of excursions.
“The InTemp vaccine loggers provide a whole new level of ease-of-use, accessibility, and reliability. The setup was very easy, and I don’t have to waste time and effort trying to figure out and manage the system,” said West. “When I’m in the office, I can just check the vaccine refrigerator if the data logger alarm goes off. I don’t have to worry about checking it constantly.”
The InTemp mobile app also makes it possible to download and send data in one step, as well as generate reports, so West Pediatrics can meet regulatory compliance requirements for vaccine storage monitoring quickly and effectively.
“Onset’s InTemp temperature data loggers and mobile app really allow for simple, accurate monitoring and reporting,” said West. “It’s very easy to download and do the reports. And it’s great that I can see the measurements and have the ability to adjust the frequency of the temperature monitoring and reporting.”
West added, “Best of all, with InTemp, I can spend less time on monitoring and more time with my patients, providing the highest level of care.”