Geisinger Tracks Patients With Disposable RTLS Wristband Tags

Geisinger-Community Medical Center (G-CMC), in Scranton, Pa., is using disposable CenTrak wristband tags to provide patient location information to patients' families and care providers, as well as to its cleaning staff.

G-CMC's adoption of the disposable tags is not intended to save the hospital money, but rather to improve the quality of the stay for patients and their loved ones, according to Kelly Worsnick, a registered nurse and the operations manager of G-CMC's emergency department. "This is definitely about providing a service for our patients."

CenTrak's disposable tag attaches to the standard plastic patient ID bracelet typically used by hospitals.

Upon being admitted to the hospital, a patient is issued a disposable CenTrak tag attached to a standard plastic ID bracelet typically used by medical facilities. The unique identifier encoded on the tag is also printed on its front so that employees can input that number into the system to link it with the patient's other information in TeleTracking Technologies' TeleTracking software, which manages the tag data. The wristband tag also comes with a bar code utilizing that same serial number, enabling personnel to scan the bar code to enter the identifier as well.