Cisco Systems Inc., Philips Medical Systems, and Emergin Inc. have partnered to rollout Cisco Clinical Connection Suite Patient Monitoring application, the companies said in a joint statement.

The Cisco Clinical Connection Suite Patient Monitoring application lets doctors and nurses receive mobile medical alerts, such as electrocardiogram messages on wireless Internet Protocol (IP) phones.

The platform sends data via "waveform snippets and text messages" to the Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920 from the Philips IntelliVue patient monitoring system via the Emergin Patient Monitoring Gateway, said Kent Gray, global lead for Cisco healthcare solutions. "Many of our customers have standalone medical devices. Rather than replacing those with a common infrastructure, customers can use the same devices and processes."

The platform consists of four applications -- Nurse Call, Patient Monitoring, Location-Based Services and Collaborative Care -- that direct, locate and prioritize information. The ability to route messages through the network assures the correct person is notified. IP communications lets hospitals aggregate alerts onto one device per doctor or nurse, if required. At Central DuPage Hospital, a 361-bed facility located in Winfield, Ill., the platform helps to improve patient care, while enabling employees to remain mobile. The hospital uses the wireless platform in its 38-bed cardiac telemetry unit to deliver critical alarm and heart rhythm information directly to nurses on their Cisco Wireless IP Phone 7920.