Patients Monitor Creates Efficiencies in Emergency Rooms

An emergency room (ER) patient monitoring system displays the real-time status of multiple patients at the same time, crucial in determining the care for each patient.

Developed for the ER at the Mayo Clinic (Rochester, MN, USA), the YES Board system monitor displays parallel rows of rectangular boxes that glow in red, green, yellow, white, and blue. Each color represents a data point in the patient’s room that demonstrates a specific request of someone in the ER, in the form of easy-to-understand icons; X for an X-ray, a drop of blood to represent lab results, and mortar and pestle for medications. Patient status is thus displayed on large computer screens throughout the ER. With the YES Board, the status of 75 to 80 patients is available at a glance.


Using the YES Board reduces the time required to translate data, allowing physicians to forecast the needs of their patients and track progress. It also has the capacity to walk physicians through current and past information for each patient, in addition to all patients collectively. Additionally, the YES Board helps to secure usable space and resources and detect the most at-risk patients, and helps forecast the needs of the patients in the emergency department. The YES Board can also be viewed through any approved computer with an internet connection.

“It provides overall situational awareness,” said YES board developer Vernon Smith, MD, who is also a computer engineer. “All the information feeds in from 15 different data systems and there is no additional input needed to maintain the real-time nature of the board. It gives of-the-moment vital information to benefit physicians' in-the-moment decision making.”

Related Links:
Mayo Clinic