In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, behavioral health facilities face increasing demands to improve patient safety, care quality, and operational efficiency. Amid workforce shortages and rising costs, technology solutions that support clinicians while respecting patient dignity are urgently needed. One company leading this transformation is Oxehealth, a UK-based digital health pioneer offering advanced, FDA-cleared health tech that reimagines how vital signs and patient safety are monitored in inpatient behavioral health environments.
We recently had the opportunity to speak with Katrin Engelmann, who has been with Oxehealth for over five years, growing alongside the company from its earliest commercial deployments to now supporting around half of the Behavioral Health National Health Service (NHS) providers in the UK. To date, Oxehealth’s technology has facilitated over 15 million hours of patient care, leveraging an innovative software platform combined with an unobtrusive optical sensor placed inside patient rooms.
What truly sets Oxehealth apart is their FDA-cleared health tech solution that enables completely contact-free measurement of patients’ pulse and breathing rates. This system uses a form of photoplethysmography, detecting subtle micro-blushes on the skin to derive vital signs from a distance — a capability that no other company currently holds FDA clearance for worldwide. Alongside these vital sign measurements, the platform provides clinicians with actionable data such as patient location and activity alerts, creating a comprehensive tool to enhance safety, clinical insight, and care efficiency.
Oxehealth’s technology is already being applied beyond behavioral health in nursing facilities and correctional environments, showing broad potential for improving patient monitoring in complex inpatient settings.
Driving Value-Based Care with FDA-Cleared Health Tech: Improving Safety, Quality, and Efficiency
Value-based care focuses on achieving better health outcomes at sustainable costs, and Oxehealth’s FDA-cleared health tech aligns perfectly with this model. Katrin explained that every implementation is rigorously evaluated for clinical, operational, and financial impact, enabling both Oxehealth and their partners to understand the tangible benefits of deploying their technology.
In senior inpatient care settings, providers using Oxehealth’s platform have documented a striking 48% reduction in patient falls and a 68% decrease in transfers to acute care facilities. These improvements are critical, given the significant risks and costs associated with inpatient falls. Furthermore, harmful falls—which often result in severe injury—have dropped by an impressive 82%. Such safety enhancements directly contribute to patient well-being and reduce the strain on healthcare resources.
From an operational perspective, these safety gains translate into meaningful cost savings. For example, facilities report a 71% reduction in sitter hours, which represent a substantial portion of inpatient care staffing budgets. By freeing nursing staff from intensive one-on-one observation duties, Oxehealth’s FDA-cleared health tech allows providers to optimize workforce allocation, reducing expenses without compromising care.
In acute behavioral health environments, where risks like self-harm and suicide attempts are a constant concern, the technology delivers significant clinical benefits as well. Data highlights a 44% reduction in self-harm incidents within bedroom areas and a 66% decrease in ligature events in bathroom spaces among female acute patients—a group particularly vulnerable to these risks. Such improvements not only enhance safety but help reduce the emotional and financial costs associated with these critical incidents.
These combined outcomes demonstrate how Oxehealth’s FDA-cleared health tech supports the core tenets of value-based care by improving safety, elevating quality, and increasing operational efficiency—all while offering measurable financial returns for providers.
Enhancing Patient Experience and Staff Satisfaction with FDA-Cleared Health Tech
Beyond hard metrics, Oxehealth’s technology transforms the inpatient experience for both patients and healthcare staff. Katrin shared insights from early implementations at a hospital in Oxford, where she noted that traditional nursing rounds had remained largely unchanged since the building’s construction in the 19th century. Nurses conducted labor-intensive, disruptive manual checks every 15 minutes, often shining flashlights into rooms or peering through door hatches to verify patient safety.
While these methods were essential for preventing harm, they frequently interrupted patients’ sleep—an essential component of recovery and mental well-being. The physical presence required for these checks also challenged patient privacy and dignity.
Oxehealth’s FDA-cleared health tech revolutionizes this practice by enabling digital safety checks. Nurses can remotely obtain pulse and breathing rates, as well as activity data, via handheld devices or touchscreens without disturbing the patient. This contact-free monitoring helps patients get the restful sleep they need, supporting better mental health and healing.
Patient feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Surveys indicate that approximately two-thirds of patients feel more secure and cared for when the technology is in use. Anecdotes even include patients personally requesting the technology be installed in their current hospitals after experiencing better rest and peace of mind elsewhere. This feedback underscores how digital monitoring fosters a safer, more comforting environment for patients.
For nursing staff, the impact is similarly profound. Routine tasks of manual observation are replaced by real-time clinical insights and alerts, allowing nurses to prioritize quality care and meaningful patient interactions. Surveys show that 92% of staff feel less stressed, and 91% experience greater peace of mind, confident that risks are actively monitored and managed. This shift in workflow not only improves job satisfaction but may help address widespread workforce shortages by making care environments more attractive to clinicians.
Several providers have reported that Oxehealth’s FDA-cleared health tech has become a recruitment advantage, drawing staff who value safety-focused, innovative workplaces. In nursing home environments, operators see potential to use this technology to enhance resident safety while supporting novel care models.
Privacy and Compliance Embedded in Oxehealth’s FDA-Cleared Health Tech
In behavioral health settings, patient privacy and dignity are paramount. Oxehealth has embedded strict privacy controls into its FDA-cleared health tech platform. The system is fully HIPAA compliant in the U.S. and GDPR compliant in Europe, ensuring adherence to the highest standards of data protection.
Unlike traditional video surveillance, the solution primarily collects non-personal data. Staff interact with the system through a simple “traffic light” visual alert system, with green, amber, and red indicators guiding clinical attention. Actual video footage is accessed only in tightly controlled scenarios, such as during FDA-cleared vital sign measurements where visual confirmation is clinically necessary—mirroring how nurses traditionally verify pulse and breathing in person.
This privacy-conscious approach respects patient dignity by minimizing intrusive monitoring and reducing the frequency of disruptive safety checks. Patients enjoy more restful nights, while staff maintain effective oversight with enhanced clinical data and alerts.
Proven ROI and the Future of FDA-Cleared Health Tech in Behavioral Health
Oxehealth’s dedication to value-based care extends beyond clinical outcomes to demonstrable financial returns. An independent health economics study in the UK revealed that every £1 invested in Oxehealth’s FDA-cleared health tech generated an average return of £3.64 ($4.45) for healthcare providers. Most partners saw positive financial outcomes within the first year, driven by reduced incidents, improved staffing efficiencies, and safer care environments.
As Oxehealth moves into the U.S. market, the company is actively seeking partnerships with forward-thinking healthcare organizations eager to harness FDA-cleared health tech solutions. Their proven track record in behavioral health, nursing homes, and correctional facilities positions them well to help providers across the care continuum achieve safer, more efficient, and higher-quality care.
Conclusion: Harnessing FDA-Cleared Health Tech for Safer Behavioral Health Care
Oxehealth’s FDA-cleared health tech is pioneering a new era in behavioral health care by enabling contact-free, continuous vital sign monitoring and real-time safety alerts that improve patient outcomes, operational efficiency, and staff satisfaction. By addressing critical challenges such as patient falls, self-harm, and workforce shortages, the technology delivers measurable improvements that align perfectly with value-based care principles.
As healthcare providers face mounting pressures to do more with less, Oxehealth’s solution offers a compelling path forward—one that safeguards patients, empowers clinicians, and supports sustainable care delivery. For organizations ready to embrace digital transformation in behavioral health, partnering with Oxehealth presents a unique opportunity to lead the way in safer, higher quality, and more efficient inpatient care.
If you are interested in learning more about how Oxehealth’s FDA-cleared health tech can enhance your behavioral health services, Katrin Engelmann and her team welcome conversations with like-minded providers committed to advancing patient-centered, technology-enabled care.
