The Methodist Healthcare System, San Antonio, Tex, is now using TeleTracking Technologies’ RadarFind real-time location system (RTLS) to track thousands of assets, and eventually patients, across multiple facilities.
Methodist will implement RadarFind’s sensor-network based RTLS in five of its 24 facilities by the end of the year. Initially, more than 15,000 assets will be tagged, including infusion pumps, sequential compression devices (SCDs), and wheelchairs. Future applications may include patient tracking and contextual status reporting on critical environmental conditions.
RadarFind’s RTLS uses patented sensor-network technology that operates via a radio frequency to achieve room-level accuracy. The RTLS also determines both status and context, according to RadarFind President Mike Nelson. “For example, a nurse can locate the nearest wheelchair, report whether it is occupied or available for use and report whether it is moving or not to make sure the right equipment is available for a patient at the appropriate time and place,” he says.
Methodist Healthcare System is jointly owned by Methodist Healthcare Ministries and the Hospital Corporation of America, the largest privately-held health care system in the US.
