San Diego NEW PRODUCTS : Diatek Data-Collection System Helps Doctors Manage Time

A major selling point for a patient management system for anesthesiologists that was placed on the market recently by Diatek Corp. of San Diego is that it helps doctors manage their operating-room time more carefully and efficiently.

But, just as important, is that the systems establish a performance record that can be referred to later by doctors who become involved in medical liability lawsuits, which increasingly are a fact of professional life. In fact, malpractice insurers are offering 10% premium discounts to anesthesiologists who practice in surgical rooms featuring the systems, Diatek Chief Executive Philip Faris said Wednesday.

The product, called Arkive Patient Information Management System, has been used in about 85 hospitals over the last year, mostly on a test basis. This month, the product was exhibited at the American Anesthesiology Assn. convention in New Orleans and became available to the market at large, a market estimated by Faris at 30,000 “placements” or operating rooms, representing potential sales of $600 million to $750 million.

The Arkive system, which runs on a computer designed and built by Diatek, starts at $16,000. The product collects physiological data from anesthetized patients and displays it on screens that make it easier for the doctors to manage the data. Faris describes the system as a “black box, or flight recorder, for anesthesiologists” that provides an “unbiased and accurate record of what went on” during an operation.

Although the Arkive product has no competition now, Faris said both Hewlett-Packard and Siemens are developing similar products that should be on the market within two years.

The product is not the first for Diatek. Faris said the company is the nation’s second largest manufacturer of electronic thermometers after IVAC of San Diego, claiming a 40% market share. The company has about 180 employees and occupies a 69,000-square-foot plant in the Sorrento Valley area.

About 85% of the stock in closely held Diatek is held by Douglas Dayton, a Minneapolis-based member of the Dayton-Hudson (Target, Mervyn’s) retailing family who is active in venture capital. Although Faris declined to disclose how much money Dayton has invested in Diatek, he said the Arkive product alone has cost $10.5 million to develop.