The ability to track assets can improve the bottom line

MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS

Clients can customize how signals can report information, and add new assets into the tracking system as they go along. "Many hospitals will install RTLS (real time location system) tracking for valuable devices like intravenous pumps, ventilators, EKG equipment, and then find RFID useful for other materials such as wheelchairs, personal computer carts, and PDAs," says Judson Vaughn, Marketing Manager of Eckahau, Inc. If a hospital has equipment on lease, the system can query its inventory to find which pieces are due back at the end of the month in order to avoid late fees," he adds. In the event of a product recall, hospitals could use RFID to instantly gather equipment quickly -- virtually eliminating any chance of using an outdated or defective device. The RFID system can also be programmed to sound an emergency signal or turn on emergency lighting when dangerous conditions occur.


RFID can also be used to track human beings. A person can wear a lanyard necklace or wristband containing a tag -- which typically weighs less than two ounces and measures 2.5 inches by 1 inch. RFID can be used to monitor nurses in patient-care areas. With a time-stamp feature, the tag can be used to determine when a nurse visited a specific patient's room. Many devices contain a panic button, which can be useful to keep tabs on Alzheimer's patients.

KEEP AN EYE ON BABY

"RFID, when used in the nurseries, has actually helped a lot. It helps reinforce our Manages Security Risk standard, which states hospitals and health care organizations must identify and manage all security risks by implementing security procedures that address the handling of an infant or pediatric abduction as applicable," states Susie McBeth, MT(ASCP), MS, MPH, Associate Director, Department of Standards Interpretation at JCAHO. Parents who know their child cannot be taken from the nursery without setting off an alert greatly appreciate the peace-of-mind that brings.

RFID tracking proves especially useful when family members come to visit a loved one who is hospitalized. Says Linda Laskowski-Jones, R.N., Director of Trauma, Emergency and Aeromedical Services at a nationally ranked hospital, "[Before the implementation of RFID technology], in the time it took to get information into the department's system the patient might have been moved more than once. We would send the family to a room but their mom might be in radiology getting a CT scan. Now we have a higher level of confidence that we know where patients are."

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