Interior Health is set to upgrade its heart (Holter) monitors across the region, which will help improve patient access to important diagnostic testing.
A Holter monitor is a diagnostic test that monitors your heartbeat through continuous electrocardiogram (ECG) tracing over a 24 hour or more period.
In a media release sent out by Interior Health, they say the new device and system for patients will help prevent diagnostic cancellation, or the need for diagnostics due to issues with equipment. The workload can also be shared between sites to scan Holter exams. This could be due to an unexpected increased volume, but the with it being shared, times to get results will be decreased.
The project came from a collaborative effort between Interior Health and the Royal Inland Hospital Foundation. The project was fulfilled through Bill and Catherina Humphrey as a gift.
The total number of monitors that were purchased were 275, which will be going to 24 remote sites, and eight scanning sites.
All sites within Interior Health will be provided with the new monitors, with the older models being donated to other areas in need.
Interior Health says implementation of the new heart monitors started in March, and completion is expected to be in June.