N.C. Hospital Looks to RadarFind to Improve Asset Visibility

Once a nurse begins using the asset, she slide the switch to reveal a yellow sticker. This indicates to staff passing by, or to those viewing the floor plan through the software, that the asset has been assigned to a patient and is not otherwise available. Once the asset is done being used, the nurse moves the lever to reveal a red sticker, indicating the asset should be picked up and moved to a cleaning facility within the hospital. Hospitals can use the status button to help ensure devices are cleaned before each use, to prevent the spread of infection. A specially designed asset tag for wheelchairs comes with electric-field sensing capabilities able to detect if a patient is in a wheelchair.

RadarFind executives claim the tags have a battery lifespan of approximately six years. The batteries are not replaceable, though a RadarFind spokesperson says hospitals will likely replace many tagged assets before a tag's battery life ends.

Each RadarFind asset tag is encoded with a unique ID number, transmitted by the tag, and also features a plastic switch to indicate the asset's condition.

Charles Brady, SRMC's director of clinical engineering, says the hospital has purchased 1,000 RadarFind tags, and will begin attaching them this spring to high-value assets, including wheelchairs and infusion pumps. The RadarFind infrastructure of interrogators and collectors should be installed, and the tracking system implemented, by June of this year.

According to Brady, the hospital would like to track another 1,000 pieces of mobile equipment—items such as handheld radios used for communications—but that the RadarFind tag's size (2.5 inches long by 1.25 inches wide) and $40 price tag make such a use impractical. However, he notes, RadarFind is developing a smaller tag that should cost less and work for tracking smaller assets. According to the vendor, the smaller tag should be available later this year.

Brady says the hospital is spending $229,000 on the RadarFind system, and will also pay the company an annual $10,000 fee for system support and upgrades. He thinks the facility will see a return on its investment in the system within two years, through savings in equipment costs and the staff overtime currently spent searching for assets.

Another N.C. hospital has also recently signed on to use the RadarFind system. Halifax Regional Medical Center, in Roanoke Rapids, has 206 beds and intends to track wheelchairs, IV pumps and other medical equipment. Its initial deployment, employing 1,000 tags, is set to begin in March.