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Patients, staff, equipment tracked with radio chips

Case Management Weekly, March 14, 2007

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Providence Medical Center in Waco, TX, has started a new program that uses radio frequency identification (RFID) chips to track patients, staff, and equipment in the hospital. The goal is to increase patient flow by identifying empty rooms and inefficient processes, and quickly locating needed materials, according to an article in the RFID Journal.

The tags are tracked with a software program and the results are shown on LCD screens in different areas of the hospital. The screens show patient, staff, and equipment location and tracks movement. So when a patient vacates a room, physical plant staff can move in to clean the area, and any equipment inside can be cleaned and returned to storage.

The technology also allows the hospital to find inefficiencies in processes assigned to staff. So if a specific process has staff members walking back and forth multiple times, a new process can be developed to create a more linear work flow and save time.

Source: Patient Flow Weekly, HCPro, Inc.

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