Real-time location systems (RTLS) are a set of technologies that track assets and individuals in specific locations, providing real-time updates on their current locations. Asset management and tracking is critical in any industry, but in healthcare, it can be the difference between life and death. Making sure that equipment, personnel, and space are available for patients is one of the most pressing responsibilities for a hospital.
To address this pressing issue, more and more hospitals are implementing real-time location systems (RTLS). RTLS in healthcare offers better asset tracking and more efficient use of limited resources, letting hospitals get the most out of providers, equipment, and ward space.
What are Real Time Location Systems?
These systems consist of multiple parts that provide, receive, or store locational data, such as tags assigned to specific assets or individuals, and hardware like RFID readers built into medical computers used to scan those tags. This makes it easier for healthcare providers to manage the usage of critical resources like ventilators and imaging machines, as well as track patients throughout the hospital.
Use Cases for RTLS in Healthcare
Even a small hospital consists of numerous systems and moving parts that must be carefully managed. Just keeping track of which rooms are occupied or have infusion pumps is one thing. When it comes to tracking the locations of healthcare providers or at-risk patients, it can be a matter of life and limb.
Asset Management
High-grade medical equipment is typically expensive, difficult to repair or replace, and designed only for a specific application. This means hospitals need to maximize the effectiveness of their equipment and reduce unnecessary downtime as much as possible. RTLS in healthcare is often used to track high-value assets, such as life-sustaining machinery, so providers know which devices are being used where and which systems are currently available.
Patient and Staff Tracking
Tracking the locations of both patients and staff inside a hospital is critical for both convenience and safety. A hospital can issue patients with wristbands that can be scanned at a provider’s workstation, informing them of where they need to go to receive the correct care or to update the hospital of their current location. These systems are especially useful for patients who cannot take care of themselves and require extra monitoring, such as infants or the elderly. The Hugs infant protection system, for example, tracks and monitors babies from the moment they’re admitted to the hospital all the way through to their discharge.
Tracking staff location is also critical for safety and emergency response. If a patient experiences a sudden medical emergency, locating systems help find providers who can respond, potentially saving the patient’s life through faster intervention. If the hospital itself experiences an emergency, such as a fire, natural disaster, or violent incident, RTLS makes it easier to locate and evacuate personnel and coordinate response efforts.
Room Occupation
In a hospital, empty beds are often a sign that resources are being underutilized. A patient forced to sit in a chair or wait for treatment is a patient who is underserved and unable to heal properly. By tracking room occupancy via patient wristbands, a hospital can ensure a steady flow of admissions, treatment, and discharges.
Benefits of Using RTLS in Hospitals
By investing in real-time location systems, hospitals and clinics can improve operations for both providers and patients, as well as save money in the long term.
Greater Safety for Patients and Providers
Most importantly, using RTLS in healthcare enables hospitals to track better the locations of both patients and providers across the premises. This helps ensure that patients do not wander into a restricted area or that staff lose track of them. Given that high-risk patients, such as infants or the elderly, are outright incapable of caring for themselves, it’s vital that providers know where these patients are at all times.
Quicker and Easier Access to Tools
Given how expensive healthcare equipment is, using it inefficiently represents a significant money sink in a hospital’s budget. In one case study, Texas Health Presbyterian Dallas Hospital saved over $400,000 by using RTLS to track critical equipment, such as infusion pumps, and keep providers informed of which pumps were available for use and which needed to be cleaned before returning to circulation. Doing so reduced equipment repair costs as well as the need to rent spare pumps.
More Efficient Room Usage
By using RTLS to track room occupancy, hospitals can use beds and patient rooms more efficiently. Rather than have a room sit unused because a provider didn’t notice it was empty or forgot to update the logbook, a patient can be moved in immediately once the previous occupant has been discharged and the room has been cleaned as needed. These systems also help prevent miscommunications or improper scheduling, such as double-booking. All of this leads to a more comfortable experience for patients and a smoother workflow for providers.
Challenges for Implementing RTLS
Like any new technology, using RTLS in healthcare requires careful consideration and presents several obstacles that must be overcome before reaping its full benefits. If you’re considering using RTLS in your healthcare operations, these are the most important challenges to address.
Technological Support
First and foremost, real-time location systems often require specialized technology, such as wristbands or sensors worn on the patient’s body or sewn into a provider’s clothing. Fortunately, these solutions often rely on technology already widely adopted, such as using Wi-Fi networks and RFID in healthcare. This makes RTLS relatively easy to adopt in healthcare settings, as half the equation is already in place.
Staff Training and Adoption
Like any new tool or work process, there has to be a period of training and adoption for employees before they can use it effectively. With RTLS in healthcare, this often means remembering to use the hardware in question (such as patient wristbands and monitors) as well as the accompanying software. These systems need to be unobtrusive and user-friendly so that providers are actually willing to use them. Ideally, they should function with tools that staff are already familiar with, such as medical computer tablets.
Data Privacy and Security
Another key concern with using RTLS is privacy and security. Data security in healthcare is a pressing issue given how frequently cybercriminals target the sector. Data used in RTLS could be severely compromising and reveal things like the patient’s identity and what they’re being treated for, making it critical that healthcare groups embrace modern cybersecurity measures alongside RTLS.
Embracing RTLS in Healthcare with Cybernet Manufacturing
Using RTLS can benefit patients, providers, and hospitals alike by providing up-to-date information on people and equipment throughout the facility. If your hospital or healthcare group is considering implementing RTLS and needs medical-grade computers to support it, contact Cybernet Manufacturing. Our medical computers are designed and manufactured specifically for the healthcare sector, feature IEC 60601-1 certification, and can integrate built-in RFID scanners to enable easy communication with real-time location transmitters.