What is a Healthcare Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS)?

Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) in healthcare are used to provide immediate or real-time tracking and management of mobile medical equipment within hospitals and healthcare settings. These systems enable hospitals to optimize their operations, increase efficiency, and reap cost savings.

What kind of different RTLS Technologies are available to hospitals?

Asset Management RTLS Staff Duress RTLS Hand Hygiene RTLS Temperature Monitoring RTLS Patient Monitoring RTLS Infant Protection RTLS Clinical Workflow Automation RTLS Nurse Call Automation RTLS

What are the benefits of Hospital RTLS for asset management?

Reduce Equipment Loss Complete PM Cycles With Ease Automate Clean Equipment Distribution Make Data-backed Procurement Decisions Increase Utilization of Existing Equipment Ensure equipment is available for clinical staff

What is the difference between RTLS and RFID?

RFID (Radio-Frequency Identification) and RTLS (Real-Time Location System) are related technologies with distinct purposes. RFID is primarily focused on identification and tracking through radio-frequency signals, providing static data when a tag is within the read range of a reader. In contrast, RTLS combines various technologies, including RFID, to deliver continuous, real-time location information with high accuracy. While RFID is suitable for applications like inventory management, RTLS excels in scenarios requiring dynamic tracking, such as real-time asset monitoring in manufacturing or precise patient tracking in healthcare.

What is the History of RTLS in Hospitals?

Early Days (RTLS 1.0 – Early 2000s): RTLS technology emerged. These systems used simple tags but complex and expensive infrastructure, making installations labor-intensive and disruptive. Transition Period (RTLS 1.5 – Early 2010s): BLE technology became mainstream, but cost and accuracy issues persisted, limiting practicality of these solutions. The Next Generation (RTLS 2.0 – Late 2010s): Cognosos introduced an innovative solution with battery-operated tags and beacons, leveraging cloud technology and machine learning for precise, cost-effective, and efficient real-time tracking, marking a significant advancement in RTLS.

The Cognosos RTLS involves four components: Beacons, installed infrequently in the ceiling throughout the hospital, ping out signals to a tag A tag receives a signal, then passes data to an internet-enabled gateway The gateway, installed in an existing hospital IT closet, sends data to the cloud LocationAI, Cognosos’ cloud-based platform, uses a machine learning algorithm to compare the information it receives with its reference network, pinpointing the tag with room-level accuracy.

How accurate is RTLS?

The accuracy of RTLS can vary, and it’s measured along two axes: margin of error and confidence. The margin of error indicates how close the system’s location measurements are to the actual position of the asset, and most companies often emphasize this aspect in their marketing. However, confidence is equally—if not more—important.

What Areas Can RTLS Solutions Cover?

Your RTLS should seamlessly extend its coverage to meet the unique demands of every area within your hospital. Cognosos RTLS excels in monitoring vital spaces like clean utility, soiled utility, surgery, pre-op, medication rooms, hallways, stairs, bays, garbage rooms, emergency, nurse stations, admissions, and post-ops, ensuring comprehensive real-time visibility of assets.

What is the difference between indoor & outdoor RTLS?

Cognosos provides distinct solutions for tracking assets, with outdoor solutions tailored for large outdoor areas, lots, and yards, while indoor asset intelligence is designed for improving asset tracking and management within complex indoor facilities like hospitals. The technology, installation, and application of business rules differ between the two solutions to suit their respective environments.

Which Type of RTLS is right for my hospital?

Selecting the right type of RTLS for your hospital depends on your specific needs and circumstances. To make an informed choice, start by identifying the precise business problems you intend to address with the RTLS. If your goal is to efficiently track mobile medical equipment, locate assets, and analyze usage, consider a system that can differentiate between various areas within the hospital. Carefully assess installation and start-up costs, keeping in mind that legacy technologies can be costly and may entail room closures during installation. Factor in the total cost of ownership, considering maintenance and battery replacement expenses. Additionally, evaluate the actionability of the data produced by the system, as an inaccurate or limited system may not support sound decision-making.

How much does it cost to implement a hospital RTLS?

The cost of implementing an RTLS can vary based on factors such as your healthcare facility’s needs, chosen RTLS solution, and deployment scale. An often overlooked factor is the “cost of entry,” which is the initial expense to set up your asset tracking system. Opting for a high-cost entry vendor may delay your ROI.

How long does it take to implement RTLS in an average hospital?

Cognosos offers an eight- to 10-week installation and training process for their RTLS system, divided into five phases: Phase one involves hardware installation, which does not require entry into patient-care areas. Phase two focuses on both AI training for spatial data collection and tagging of equipment. Phase three includes system optimization and training for key personnel. Phase four entails final testing and a system walk-through with the RTLS steering committee. Phase five is when the Cognosos RTLS system goes live after all preparations and training, ensuring a smooth and efficient implementation process.

How do I achieve an ROI with RTLS?

To attain a Return on Investment (ROI) with a RTLS for your hospital, focus on three pivotal areas: first, RTLS can prevent unnecessary equipment purchases by offering precise data on equipment utilization, saving the hospital considerable expenses. Second, it reduces equipment loss, stemming from misplacement or patients taking items, through monitoring and alerts. This minimizes loss and the need for costly replacements. Lastly, RTLS optimizes the management of rental equipment, enhancing visibility and ensuring efficient usage of owned assets, which in turn reduces the reliance on rentals.

Refrigerator and Freezer Temperature Monitoring

Refrigerator & freezer temperature monitoring

Eliminate manual temperature checks to improve patient safety and prevent costly spoilage

Reduce unneeded expense by addressing spoilage of pharmaceuticals and vaccines with automated refrigerator and freezer monitoring.

Get real-time smart alerts from your temperature monitoring system

Alleviate your staff from manual temperature monitoring and streamline the process to save time and money.

Reduce spoilage

Save money by reducing loss of critical medications and medical supplies.

Reduce infection risk

Proper temperature monitoring helps stifle bacteria and associated infection risk.

Minimize staff burden

Eliminate staff time spent doing manual temperature checks, freeing up personnel for patient care.

Discover how wireless temperature monitoring systems can positively impact your facility

Ensure patient safety by tracking and maintaining refrigerators and freezer temperatures, with instant notifications for temperature dips. Automate compliance with accurate reporting for regulatory standards, ensuring timely responses and consistent oversight.

Compliance Automation

Generate accurate reporting for regulatory compliance.

Patient Safety

Track and maintain temperatures in pharmacies, laboratories and blood banks.

Timely Responses

Receive instant notifications when refrigerators and freezers dip below mandated temperatures.

Eliminate manual temperature checks while helping to improve patient safety and preventing spoilage

Clinical Staff

Eliminate manual temperature monitoring to streamline processes and increase compliance.

Laboratory Staff

Utilize hospital refrigeration to maintain samples, specimens, vaccines, and medications.

Cafeteria Staff

Harness automated temperature checks to meet the hospital’s refrigerator policy.

Patients

Streamline automation to ensure safe storage, providing patients a safer overall hospital experience.

Pharmacists

Properly store temperature-sensitive medications to deliver patient prescriptions on time.

Nurses

Work with confidence that patient specimens, vaccines, and medications haven’t spoiled.