New York Medical Center Tracks OR Equipment for Trauma Care

However, it was not the OR equipment-tracking concerns that first drew the hospital to a Wi-Fi-based tracking system. In fact, SUNY initially sought a solution to track other equipment, particularly IV pumps. Because the hospital had installed a Cisco Wi-Fi network and access points for communications throughout its 1.3 million-square-foot facility in 2007, it wanted to leverage that technology to improve its asset visibility—and, ultimately, its patient care.

The hospital decided to implement AeroScout's Wi-Fi RFID Asset Management solution, which includes the company's MobileView software to view the location of an item on a PC, as well as Wi-Fi tags that transmit to the existing Wi-Fi nodes deployed throughout the facility.

The first phase of the system was deployed in the 366-bed hospital in November 2008. When the facility's management selected the AeroScout solution, Zeman states, "We wanted to improve IV pump utilization because we suspected it was too low, and that with better information, we could improve utilization and decrease further capital purchases."

However, Zeman notes, after the hospital tagged and began tracking 600 IV pumps, the reduction in storage space for the OR equipment brought the department's needs to the forefront. "It became clear that the immediate challenge we should tackle was the management of our OR equipment," he says.

With the RFID system, Haithcox says, employees can log into the MobileView software at the nearest PC, and view a graphical interface that displays the location of an item that a staff member keys into the system, such as a specialized operating table.