A recent university study that evaluated the impact of a Real Time Location System deployed in a hospital has revealed that the technology is driving increased operational efficiency and saving thousands of dollars annually. At the same time, the technology for tracking mobile medical equipment enables nurses to spend more time with patients and improve staff morale.

 

RadarFind’s Real Time Location System uses an innovative wireless sensor network platform for tracking medical equipment and patients. The study evaluated the impact of implementing the RadarFind RTLS at Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton, N.C. on the management of equipment support, nursing and patient care as well as hospital finances. It was found that the technology allowed staff to reduce time spent searching for tagged equipment by 96 percent and also saved the hospital $750,000 in indirect costs.

 

According to Barbara Christe, the lead researcher for the study team and associate professor and program director of Biomedical Engineering Technology at the joint research campus Indiana University-Purdue University (News - Alert) in Indianapolis, the level of data generated by these systems has the potential to change the management of technology and the delivery of patient care. SRMC estimates that nurses spend at least one hour per day searching for equipment. However, after the RadarFind system was installed, the time spent searching for equipment could be saved. Hence, for the 120 nurses working at the hospital, the annual indirect savings is $750,000.

 

It is possible to realize additional savings by reducing capital expenditures based on using equipment utilization data gathered by the system. During the study, RadarFind representatives demonstrated that utilization data could support a smaller amount of infusion pumps than the hospital was planning to purchase. In addition, clinical engineering staff has reported that the time spent searching for tagged equipment has been reduced from 4 hours a day to just less than 10 minutes. Moreover, preventive maintenance compliance rates for tagged equipment have also improved to 100 percent.

 

According to Joanne Anderson, president and chief executive officer of SRMC, this technology enables nurses to spend more time caring for patients, ensuring that patients receive the utmost quality of care and benefiting hospital staff morale.

 

RadarFind features a three-state, color-coded status switch on tags to mark equipment as available (green), in-use (yellow) or needs cleaning/decontamination (red). This tool can also be utilized as part of a hospital’s infection control procedures. For example, by analyzing the time-stamped location history of a piece of equipment or patient, data gathered by the RTLS can be used to track an infection in a hospital.

 

The study also identified initiatives that could increase the benefits of RTLS. These include initiatives like eliminating the need for an annual physical inventory, referencing the history of equipment used in each patient room to ensure accuracy when billing a patient or insurance company and analyzing data to determine where a piece of equipment is most likely to be used in order to develop a better storage plan for those items.