Multidimensional evaluation of a radio frequency identification wi-fi location tracking system in an acute-care hospital setting

Okoniewska, B.; Graham, A.; Gavrilova, Marina; Wah, D.; Gilgen, J.; Coke, J.; Burden, James I. F.; Nayyar, Shifali; Kaunda, J.; Yergens, Dean; Baylis, Barry; Ghali, William A.

doi:10.1136/amiajnl-2011-000560

Cited by 24 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…[6] Concerns regarding RFID that may influence its acceptance include the significant implementation cost, uncertain return of investment, organizational challenges in integrating it within pre-existing facility practices, user compliance, and issues of information security. [6,18,19] Its use may also not prevent future equipment losses if it is not based on an investigation of the events leading to the loss. A detailed, factual and timely investigation of the events around the loss coupled with analysis on how to prevent similar incidents is required to minimize future occurrences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Documentation and investigation of missing health care equipment: The need to safeguard high priced devices in health care institutions

Cheung

Clayden

Ocampo

et al. 2017

JHA

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Objective: Missing medical equipment in health care settings decrease productivity, increase spending to replace losses, and potentially endanger patient safety. By documenting and investigating the causes of these incidents, strategies to prevent future occurrences can be developed. Methods: As an example of this approach, we describe the inadvertent disposal of an expensive medical device during a randomized controlled trial (RCT) conducted within a medical facility. The incident was carefully documented and investigated shortly after it occurred. This information was used to develop targeted interventions to prevent further occurrences. Results: The device was a mattress overlay connected to a computer monitor that generated a continuous pressure image for use by nursing staff in the prevention of pressure injuries. An Environmental Services staff member disposed of one of these devices when the room of an enrolled patient was cleaned following their transfer to another unit. Miscommunication (or a misunderstanding of communicated information) and lack of awareness were identified as the main causes of this error. Discussion: By using the loss as a learning opportunity, the investigation of the incident led to strategies for preventing future occurrences. These included frequent training sessions for staff and improvements in signage. A detailed, factual and timely investigation of the events around the loss of armamentarium coupled with analysis on how to prevent future occurrences should be considered for all incidents involving high cost equipment. Conclusions: A standardized, non-judgmental approach to documenting and investigating the causes of costly equipment loss can lead to strategies for improved asset management and the prevention of further incidents of this nature.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Documentation and investigation of missing health care equipment: The need to safeguard high priced devices in health care institutions

Cheung

Clayden

Ocampo

et al. 2017

JHA

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“…For tracking technology, RTLSs commonly use radiofrequency identification (RFID), Wi-Fi, infrared (IR), Bluetooth, or a combination. 10 Many of these technologies have trade-offs and limitations, such as RFID, which does not require line of sight but has poor location accuracy 11 and may not be able to track specific patients in crowds. 12 Note that there are many possible technologies for real-time location tracking, each of which may be more effective depending on the application.…”

Section: Background and Significancementioning

confidence: 99%

The Impact of a Location-Sensing Electronic Health Record on Clinician Efficiency and Accuracy: A Pilot Simulation Study

et al. 2018

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Background Through the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, the federal government invested $26 billion in electronic health records (EHRs) to improve physician performance and patient safety; however, these systems have not met expectations. One of the cited issues with EHRs is the human–computer interaction, as exhibited by the excessive number of interactions with the interface, which reduces clinician efficiency. In contrast, real-time location systems (RTLS)—technologies that can track the location of people and objects—have been shown to increase clinician efficiency. RTLS can improve patient flow in part through the optimization of patient verification activities. However, the data collected by RTLS have not been effectively applied to optimize interaction with EHR systems. Objectives We conducted a pilot study with the intention of improving the human–computer interaction of EHR systems by incorporating a RTLS. The aim of this study is to determine the impact of RTLS on process metrics (i.e., provider time, number of rooms searched to find a patient, and the number of interactions with the computer interface), and the outcome metric of patient identification accuracy Methods A pilot study was conducted in a simulated emergency department using a locally developed camera-based RTLS-equipped EHR that detected the proximity of subjects to simulated patients and displayed patient information when subjects entered the exam rooms. Ten volunteers participated in 10 patient encounters with the RTLS activated (RTLS-A) and then deactivated (RTLS-D). Each volunteer was monitored and actions recorded by trained observers. We sought a 50% improvement in time to locate patients, number of rooms searched to locate patients, and the number of mouse clicks necessary to perform those tasks. Results The time required to locate patients (RTLS-A = 11.9 ± 2.0 seconds vs. RTLS-D = 36.0 ± 5.7 seconds, p < 0.001), rooms searched to find patient (RTLS-A = 1.0 ± 1.06 vs. RTLS-D = 3.8 ± 0.5, p < 0.001), and number of clicks to access patient data (RTLS-A = 1.0 ± 0.06 vs. RTLS-D = 4.1 ± 0.13, p < 0.001) were significantly reduced with RTLS-A relative to RTLS-D. There was no significant difference between RTLS-A and RTLS-D for patient identification accuracy. Conclusion This pilot demonstrated in simulation that an EHR equipped with real-time location services improved performance in locating patients and reduced error compared with an EHR without RTLS. Furthermore, RTLS decreased the number of mouse clicks required to access information. This study suggests EHRs equipped with real-time location services that automates patient location and other repetitive tasks may improve physician efficiency, and ultimately, patient safety.

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“…Furthermore, previous studies have shown that these systems are effective in reducing costs, improving the quality of medical services, enhancing work processes, and boosting patient satisfaction, by tracking medical professionals and patients [ 6 , 8 , 10 , 12 – 16 , 18 , 19 ]. RTLS technology is based mainly on the use of WiFi and RFID, although some research has examined whether Bluetooth could be used as the basis of RTLSs [ 5 , 6 , 20 ]. Researchers in the healthcare field have demonstrated strong interest in localization systems; however, these systems are still in their infancy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Real-time location system-based asset tracking in the healthcare field: lessons learned from a feasibility study

Yoo

Kim

et al. 2018

BMC Med Inform Decis Mak

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BackgroundNumerous hospitals and organizations have recently endeavored to study the effects of real-time location systems. However, their experiences of system adoption or pilot testing via implementation were not shared with others or evaluated in a real environment. Therefore, we aimed to share our experiences and insight regarding a real-time location system, obtained via the implementation and operation of a real-time asset tracking system based on Bluetooth Low Energy/WiFi in a tertiary care hospital, which can be used to improve hospital efficiency and nursing workflow.MethodsWe developed tags that were attached to relevant assets paired with Bluetooth Low Energy sensor beacons, which served as the basis of the asset tracking system. Problems with the system were identified during implementation and operation, and the feasibility of introducing the system was evaluated via a satisfaction survey completed by end users after 3 months of use.ResultsThe results showed that 117 nurses who had used the asset tracking system for 3 months were moderately satisfied (2.7 to 3.4 out of 5) with the system, rated it as helpful, and were willing to continue using it. In addition, we identified 4 factors (end users, target assets, tracking area, and type of sensor) that should be considered in the development of asset tracking systems, and 4 issues pertaining to usability (the active tag design, technical limitations, solution functions, and operational support).ConclusionsThe successful introduction of asset tracking systems based on real-time location in hospitals requires the selection of clear targets (e.g., users and assets) via analysis of the user environment and implementation of appropriate technical improvements in the system as required (e.g., miniaturization of the tag size and improvement of the sensing accuracy).

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Multidimensional evaluation of a radio frequency identification wi-fi location tracking system in an acute-care hospital setting

Cited by 24 publications

References 4 publications

Documentation and investigation of missing health care equipment: The need to safeguard high priced devices in health care institutions

Documentation and investigation of missing health care equipment: The need to safeguard high priced devices in health care institutions

The Impact of a Location-Sensing Electronic Health Record on Clinician Efficiency and Accuracy: A Pilot Simulation Study

Real-time location system-based asset tracking in the healthcare field: lessons learned from a feasibility study

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