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Seton Medical Center Deploying Ultrasound and RFID Systems
Hospitals often end up with more than they really need because equipment gets misplaced and can't be found. "Suppliers tell you how many pieces of equipment you need based on how many beds you have. With IV pumps, for example, we are about 20 percent over [the recommended amount], and we want to reduce that overage, which we hope will save about a quarter of a million dollars a year," he says. Overall, Seton hopes to improve its equipment utilization, currently at about 45 percent, to about 75 percent.
In addition to tracking assets, Seton plans to use the ultrasound tags on patients so the hospital can track and locate them. "If a respiratory therapist is looking for a particular patient, the therapist might have to spend a lot of time looking—checking rooms, or other parts of the hospital—because the patient might have been moved to the X-ray department for X-rays," says Falwell. The ultrasound system, combined with the RedPrairie software, will make it easier to locate the patients.
Seton originally considered using RFID tags for the asset- and patient-tracking system. In fact, that was the plan a year ago, Falwell says. But after the hospital found out about the ultrasound system, it decided the ultrasound technology better met its needs. "For our business needs, we needed room-level accuracy of 100 percent, so if I want to know if a tag is in room 303, I need it to be in room 303. RF signals can transmit through walls." This, he says, may cause the tracking system to misidentify the location of an asset. Ultrasound signals, however, can't penetrate walls, reducing the likelihood of the tracking error. "One of our big drivers," Falwell explains, "was for nurses to find needed equipment immediately."
Seton Medical Center's choice of ultrasound technology from Sonitor is also being tested at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital (see Testing Ultrasound to Track, Monitor Patients).
Seton has decided it won't be using the ultrasound system to manage drug administration, however. If more than one patient were in a room, the ultrasound system would not be able to identify one from the other—it would only know that those particular patients were there. The hospital plans to use passive RFID tags embedded in wristbands to help nurses and doctors determine the exact medicine and dosage each patient should get. The RFID tags will carry unique IDs, each of which will be associated with patient names housed in a patient-management system software containing the patients’ medical histories, prescriptions and other information. The tags will replace the bar-coded wristbands the hospital currently uses. Seton has not yet made any decisions as to which RFID hardware and software it will choose.
"Ascension Health has a goal of zero preventable deaths. That is a very lofty goal when you have hospitals all over the country," Falwell says. "This technology is only part of the solution, but it is a step."
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In addition to tracking assets, Seton plans to use the ultrasound tags on patients so the hospital can track and locate them. "If a respiratory therapist is looking for a particular patient, the therapist might have to spend a lot of time looking—checking rooms, or other parts of the hospital—because the patient might have been moved to the X-ray department for X-rays," says Falwell. The ultrasound system, combined with the RedPrairie software, will make it easier to locate the patients.
Seton originally considered using RFID tags for the asset- and patient-tracking system. In fact, that was the plan a year ago, Falwell says. But after the hospital found out about the ultrasound system, it decided the ultrasound technology better met its needs. "For our business needs, we needed room-level accuracy of 100 percent, so if I want to know if a tag is in room 303, I need it to be in room 303. RF signals can transmit through walls." This, he says, may cause the tracking system to misidentify the location of an asset. Ultrasound signals, however, can't penetrate walls, reducing the likelihood of the tracking error. "One of our big drivers," Falwell explains, "was for nurses to find needed equipment immediately."
Seton Medical Center's choice of ultrasound technology from Sonitor is also being tested at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital (see Testing Ultrasound to Track, Monitor Patients).
Seton has decided it won't be using the ultrasound system to manage drug administration, however. If more than one patient were in a room, the ultrasound system would not be able to identify one from the other—it would only know that those particular patients were there. The hospital plans to use passive RFID tags embedded in wristbands to help nurses and doctors determine the exact medicine and dosage each patient should get. The RFID tags will carry unique IDs, each of which will be associated with patient names housed in a patient-management system software containing the patients’ medical histories, prescriptions and other information. The tags will replace the bar-coded wristbands the hospital currently uses. Seton has not yet made any decisions as to which RFID hardware and software it will choose.
"Ascension Health has a goal of zero preventable deaths. That is a very lofty goal when you have hospitals all over the country," Falwell says. "This technology is only part of the solution, but it is a step."
