Hospitals look to Wi-Fi for tracking

So far this month, we can add two more healthcare organizations to the growing ranks of hospitals nationwide that are leveraging their Wi-Fi networks to streamline tracking efforts. Both Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, Fla., and Ohio State University Medical Center (OSUMC) in Columbus, Ohio, have tapped Ekahau's Wi-Fi-based RTLS offering to make the most of their Cisco Wi-Fi infrastructures.

As I wrote in a separate blog post, Flagler Hospital plans to use the solution for a variety of hospital-wide asset tracking, workflow and management applications. The 316-bed acute care hospital, which was listed by U.S. News & World Report in 2007 as one of America's best, utilizes a campus-wide wireless LAN from Cisco for a variety of clinical and IT applications. Now, that same Wi-Fi network will be leveraged by its asset tracking system to support the organization's equipment inventory control and utilization, tracking several thousand clinical assets, such as infusion pumps, patient monitors and IT assets. More location-based applications are expected to be added in the near future, including staff and patient location tracking and temperature monitoring.

Meanwhile, as RFID Journal reports: OSUMC will begin installing one of the United States' largest healthcare RTLS deployments this month to locate assets and individuals. The system, which will cover more than five million square feet comprising approximately 40 buildings, should take about three weeks to install, according to Tuomo Rutanen, Ekahau's VP of business development.

Once installed, Rutanen says, the system will initially consist of approximately 1,000 asset tags, but within the next two years, a total of 15,000 Wi-Fi RFID tags are expected to be deployed, to identify and track assets, patients and staff members. The hospital will use Ekahau Positioning Engine location software on its own server to pinpoint each tag's location within the facility, and to conduct business analytics based on that location information.

Ekahau says RTLS system performance typically is measured by two key parameters: accuracy and latency. The company's patented RF algorithms, coupled with a unique calibration methodology, promise accuracy down to room level. And because it is certified by and operates over Cisco Wi-Fi networks, which provide real-time communication, Ekahau RTLS is able to transmit and process location data within seconds.

Vendors across the board are predicting another good year for RTLS, as healthcare providers continue their push for increased efficiencies and reduced costs. HealthcareGoesMobile.com wants to hear from readers regarding their plans for asset and people tracking. Do you expect to implement an RTLS solution this year? Do you have plans in place to beef up current tracking efforts? Where does RTLS rank on your list of priorities?

John Farrell participates in HealthcareGoesMobile.com as a community correspondent through Intel's paid sponsorship with MedTech Publishing Company.