SATISFIED PATIENTS, SATISFIED DOCTORS

Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware recently implemented Versus Technologies' Amelior Tracker software. Their emergency department has been able to track 100% of patients, decrease average length of stay by 20-45 minutes and reduce patient walkouts by 24% due to faster response times. During the first flu season using automatic tracking, patient turnaround time decreased 5% despite an 8% increase in patient volume.


A pilot study about the effectiveness of RFID technologies at Brigham Young led by Michael Fraai, BWH Director of Biomedical Engineering, tracked several hundred valuable devices including external pacers, telemetry transmitters and 12-lead cables. The study reported high levels of staff satisfaction; doctors and nurses could spend more time with patients instead of foraging for equipment. Analysis showed a 50% reduction in losses of the pilot's tracked equipment.

SAFETY=LESS LIABILITY=MORE MONEY

RFID labels help enforce JCAHO -- Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations -- and HIPAA security standards. A bar coded wristband can provide two forms of identification in one easy-to-access place by encoding the patient name and identification number. Including two forms of patient ID on the wristband satisfies JCAHO National Patient Safety Goals and aids HIPAA compliance, because information encoded in a bar code instead of being shown in text satisfies HIPAA privacy requirements. The patient may be identified by encoding his or her name in the wristband, or by assigning a random, unique patient ID number that can be encoded and printed in human-readable text. This approach satisfies both JCAHO and HIPAA requirements.

By providing a record of equipment use, RFID's make it easier for accountants to determine the appreciation and depreciation of assets funded by government grant money. More accurate cost reporting makes a hospital a better candidate for future grant money.


TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF DEVICES

Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) technologies like Aeroscout, Ekahau and PanGo operate through a hospital's standard 802.11 WiFi network to provide accurate information about real-time location. Sometimes hospitals need to install more WiFi access points. RTLS uses infrastructure already in place, meaning that no additional network hardware, wiring or readers are required. The standards-based technology eliminates the high costs and long wait-time associated with the installation of a new, proprietary cable system. With lower deployment costs, hospitals can see a faster return on investment and benefit more from their existing network.

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