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People and Asset Tracing
Using modern wireless technology, it is possible to determine the position of any object or person. A small, active transmitter – a so-called tag – is secured to the object or carried by the person. Readers placed on the ceiling or above a door forward the position and identity of the transmitter to a central server.
In hospitals and clinics, this technology can be used for the following purposes:
- Support system for confused persons:
Due to drugs, medicine, illness (e.g. Alzheimer and dementia) or old age, some patients may get confused and lose their way. They may leave the hospital, thereby putting their own safety in jeopardy.
- Infant abduction:
While infant abductions remain luckily a seldom thing, there are disturbing trends surfacing in many parts of the world, including Europe and the USA. The latest statistics from the U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children showed six hospital abductions in 2004. In Europe, there were several cases in France, Austria and Germany in the last 3 years.
- Baby mix-up:
Since contagious diseases may be transferred to a baby by a single breast-feed, the risk of mixing up babies must be eliminated. In this case, the transmitters may be of assistance, because the baby and mother tags may be compared and trigger an immediate alarm in case of error.
- Asset tracking:
Mobile hospital equipment (e.g. telemetry, laptops) may be supplied with electronic tags, and their position can be established quickly in case of an emergency or for auditing purposes. Theft attempts will be registered immediately.
- Wireless nurse call / panic button:
By pressing the button on the wrist tag or staff tag, the patient or nurse can send a distress signal, which includes name and current location: The assigned staff and colleagues are immediately notified through the existing channels: Pager, mobile phone, etc.
All transmitters are of course sabotage-proof. They are under constant surveillance, and an alarm will be triggered if they are removed, covered, or even destroyed.
In our society, people are getting older and the number of patients grow who are in good physical condition, but suffer from confusion and dementia due to the decay of their nervous systems. In the job of ensuring the protection of those patients without a constant increase in staff, people and asset tracing systems may be invaluable tools. With tracing, it is possible to analyze and optimize patient flows: Where is, for example, a patient kept waiting for too long? Nursing activities can be documented and used as a platform for performance-based billing with much less paperwork or as evidence in a legal case.
Customer Benefits
Fewer liability risks
- Minimized risk of infant abductions and dementia patient walk-outs
- Minimized risk of staff injury due to assaults (emergency station, psychiatry, parking garage)
- Correspondingly lower risk of damage to image
- Lower insurance premium due to reduced risks
- Evidence and log books in legal cases (proof of reaction times after nurse call, etc.)
Increased operating efficiency
- Optimization of investment due to actual usage statistics (reductions in the case of rental and leasing contracts)
- Theft reduction
- More efficient maintenance due to reduced time spent searching for devices
- Introduction of internal and external invoicing according to effective expenditure/effort (material/hours of care)
Staff productivity
- No interruptions of care to monitor doors in infant station or geriatric ward, for example
- No extensive searches for missing dementia patients
- Shorter downtimes for care staff due to rapid handling of incidents before they escalate into violence
- Improved sense of security in sensitive departments
Increased customer satisfaction
- Increased freedom of movement for mothers, patients and visitors
- Sense of security for parents, dementia patients, geriatric patients (nurse call), relatives
- Monitoring of patient flow, regular identification of bottlenecks and optimization of processes helps improve service (e.g. triggering an alarm if the patient has to wait for too long)
Customer References
Hospital San Pedro, Spain
Retirement Home Seniorenzentrum Sikna, Zürch, Switzerland
