Healthcare facilities are constantly looking for ways to improve not only the patient’s care, but also maintain the safest and most efficient building and equipment. Hospitals move in a constant state of motion. They constantly need to know where people and equipment are and what equipment is available. This is critical as to not cause delay or error. Where RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) is good for telling “about” where an object is, RTLS can work as a GPS to locate exactly what you’re looking to find. RFID could have you guessing between which floor a person or object can be found; wasting valuable resources and precious time. RTLS can direct you to the correct floor, room and placement in the room and save time in the process. Here we will explore 3 benefits the RTLS is bringing to the healthcare industry that any hospital can use, regardless of their size.

  1. Enhance the movement of staff and patients.
    Precise locating in large, multi-level healthcare facilities can be crucial in giving care or receiving care. Not only is tracking hospital personnel vital in providing the best care, but tracking the patients as well. Patients who need to be moving around the facility for other treatments, rehab or struggle with dementia could be difficult to keep track of. RTLS ensures providers with the best pinpoint of where their patients are should they need to be located. Additionally, in an era known for it’s nursing shortage, RTLS allow the staff to know where other staff are without much gap time lost.
  2. Protecting assets and lower equipment waste.
    Hospitals require a lot of medical equipment to best meet the needs of those they serve. Often, in large facilities, some of that equipment can get misplaced or forgotten about leading to unneeded repurchases and multiple sets of items. With RTLS, administrators can keep track of assets, where they have been and when they need to be serviced or sterilized. This helps to keep operating costs and redundancy down while keeping safety of the patients as the top priority.
  3. Do more with less.
    RTLS allows for things like streamlining events and documentation. Hospitals are data-driven places, and sometimes the amount of time it takes to record all the necessary data is time away from patient care. Tracking patient data like case status, milestones and patient location can provide quick, needed analytics. This reduces stress while improving efficiency. Also, locating equipment assets as quickly as possible in places like the ICU could be the difference between life and death. With a nursing shortage, staff members are already stretched thin. RTLS solutions allow staff to pinpoint the exact location of needed resources. With increased productivity from reducing this waste, staff are freed up to perform more personalized patient care and have greater job satisfaction; all while helping the hospital protect the bottom line and do more with less.

As technology continues to help shape a better heathcare horizon, hospitals are looking for better ways to deliver the best care while making sure they take care of the bottom line. RTLS solutions help to ensure both.

Are you ready to start a conversation with one of our highly trained and experienced staff about what RTLS could be like for your facility?

Hospitals RTLS