Providing good dialysis care for patients begins with having a functioning arteriovenous access, either a fistula or graft. While every access will eventually develop complications such as stenosis, it does not have to lead to thrombosis or the loss of the access. A timely referral for a preventive intervention can restore patency and extend access life. How do clinicians know when their patients have developed significant stenosis? This is the issue that Vasc-Alert solves.
How it Works: Pressure Triggering Automatic Alerts
Vasc-Alert tests the access by deriving the pressure at the tip of the needle, (intra-access pressure). When stenosis begins to occlude the access, the pressure in the access increases. By trending the pressure in the access, Vasc-Alert can indicate to staff when stenosis is becoming significant.
Learn More About Pressure Data
Scoring the Risk of Access Complication
There are a number of parameters that Vasc-Alert calculates, each measuring a different factor related to the risk of access complications. Taken together, they provide a multidimensional view of the health of the vascular access. By quantifying these various risk factors, Vasc-Alert can summarize the relative risk of access dysfunction in a simple 1 to 10 risk score.
Learn More About Access Risk Score
Access Maintenance Made Easy
Weekly reports indicating which patients are at risk for access complications are provided automatically — without the need for staff to test the access. Included is the Triage List Report that uses the access risk score to rank the patients who are on alert. This helps busy staff prioritize which of the patients need to be examined first. When a patient needs to be sent for an angiogram, there is a built-in Referral Module that facilitates the process. Each patient has an individualized Patient Detail Report that is available both online and as a downloadable PDF. Vasc-Alert also provides training and ongoing support for clinical staff.