- Tracking Vulnerable Patients in Real Time
- Detecting Tampering or Attempts to Leave Secured Areas
- Customized Alerts According to a Hospital’s Needs
Several hospitals are launching a new real-time location system (RTLS) from Interface Systems that employs active RFID technology to track the locations of high-risk patients—namely, infants and those with memory concerns or dementia. The solution can lock doors and sound alerts if patients approach a secured doorway, elevator or stairwell. Leveraging technology from RTLS provider GuardRFID, Interface’s solution monitors those wearing RFID-enabled wristbands and can automatically close or lock doors, as well as prompt the sounding of alarms, in the event of an unauthorized action.
Interface’s Infant Protection Monitoring solution provides security for newborn babies at birthing centers and hospitals, to prevent abductions and the accidental pairing of infants with the wrong parents. Meanwhile, the company’s Wander Management System is designed for monitoring patients with dementia or other mental health conditions at hospitals, behavioral health facilities and memory care centers, according to Don Fruhwirth, Interface Systems’ product management director.
The managed service provider, headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., has been offering a technology-based solution for lone workers in the retail, hospitality and restaurant sectors. That platform, released in 2020 and using technology from another RFID firm, had some limits, Fruhwirth recalls, so the company transitioned to GuardRFID, which provides security applications for its healthcare customers.
Tracking Vulnerable Patients in Real Time
The two-pronged solution enables monitoring of both infants and patients at risk of wandering. Both features employ active 433 MHz RFID tags to prevent child abductions and protect security-vulnerable seniors. The system consists of an active RFID tag; 125 KHz exciters at doorways, elevators or stairwells; and 433 MHz RFID readers deployed around a facility to track the locations of vulnerable patients in real time.
In the case of infant protection, hospital personnel and remote security officers can obtain real-time alerts and precise location information regarding the movements of tagged infants into unsecured areas. If nurses and mothers are also equipped with tags, the technology can detect if infants have been paired with the wrong adults. The Wander Management System, on the other hand, protect patients with dementia or Alzheimer’s, by tracking their positions within the facility in real time. Hospital employees and remote security professionals can receive real-time alerts and precise location information regarding the tagged patients’ movements.
Interface has begun deploying the solutions for some healthcare customers, Fruhwirth says, and is currently transitioning to this service from its older lone worker protection platform. The company’s latest solution relies on its enterprise software platform. Healthcare customers can use the system with 433 MHz active RFID or an existing Wi-Fi connection. “The solution offers the widest selection of RFID tags to choose from,” he states, “offering security, safety and functionality in one complete system. It includes both long-range location and instant chokepoint detection, as a result of its dual-frequency implementation.”
According to Fruhwirth, the solution leverages Interface’s experience with protecting people at risk. “Our experience in implementing lone and mobile worker safety solutions,” he says, “has given us deep insight into the challenges associated with delivering personal protection monitoring solutions.” In addition to RTLS technology, the system can be integrated with onsite alarm tech and video cameras for real-time alarm management, as well as the capability to provide video verification of alarm events, says Kerry Brock, GuardRFID’s president and chief revenue officer.
Detecting Tampering or Attempts to Leave Secured Areas
With regard to infant protection, each newborn baby wears a tag in the form of an ankle band or umbilical tag that can detect if it is being cut or tampered with. The tag includes a coin cell battery and an RFID radio to transmit data to area readers, and it also comes encoded with a unique ID number linked to the patient’s identification in the software, which typically resides on the facility’s server. RFID exciters can be deployed in any area of concern, such as at elevator doors, and can transmit their unique IDs in real time.
If an infant tag comes within range of an exciter, the tag wakes up, captures the exciter’s ID number and automatically sends a signal to RFID readers installed in the facility’s hallways. That data is then captured in the software and an alert can be sounded, or the doors can be automatically closed and locked, depending on how the system has been configured.
If employees and mothers are wearing RFID tags, the software could detect which baby has entered a secure area, as well as who that child is with, then respond accordingly. For instance, a specific nurse or the infant’s mother could be authorized to proceed, whereas anyone else would not be. The system can also record video footage, Brock says, “So if they have an integration to their camera system, we can record the footage at the door as well.”
Customized Alerts According to a Hospital’s Needs
The wander-protection solution works similarly. A patient would wear a wristband encoded with a unique ID linked to that person’s identity. The system can be set according to individuals’ specific needs, such as preventing them from leaving a given floor for safety purposes. If patients were to wander toward a door that would take them away from a secured area, the doors could be locked and an alert could be forwarded to caregivers.
Management could use the software to view the real-time locations of all vulnerable patients within the facility or ward. The system can be configured to allow a variety of actions specific to the hospital’s needs as well. For example, the software could prohibit a patient from leaving the infant ward unless the baby were with an authorized nurse, or if the nurse had made a modification in the software to sign the baby first out for a specified reason, such as taking the child to the X-ray or ultrasound department.
In addition, the system can provide employee safety or monitor for staff duress. One version of the wristband or badge comes with buttons that staff members can press in the case of an emergency. This feature could provide emergency response to healthcare workers in distress. “The pandemic has really highlighted the safety issues and violence that healthcare workers can be exposed to,” Brock states, noting that legislation is in the works in some areas to provide greater safety to these essential workers.
Thus, the technology could provide a way for personnel to quickly summon help in the event of an emergency, while the software could provide security officers with the identity of the person seeking help, along with their real-time location. Once the solution is in place for one use case, such as infant management, it can be used for other purposes as well, Brock says, such as wandering prevention for dementia patients, worker safety, or the management of wheelchairs, gurneys and other assets.
Most healthcare facilities deploy RTLS solutions in phases, Brock reports. They install readers and acquire tags for the most pressing need, then expand from there. “Once they have the network in place,” she explains, “it’s pretty easy to scale up.” GuardRFID makes a variety of RFID tags and bands, she adds, including one that includes a built-in temperature and light sensor to detect changes in an infant’s condition.
Key Takeaways:
- A new RTLS solution enables hospitals and care facilities to track the locations and safety of their most vulnerable patients.
- Interface Systems’ offerings are designed to be flexible, so users can configure them to respond according to the unique requirements and activities of their facilities.