Case Study: Wireless Tracking Cures Asset Woes

By Brian Albright, Integrated Solutions magazine

Hospitals utilize thousands of pieces of expensive equipment, much of it highly mobile, while treating patients. Locating those assets in a timely fashion can be a challenge, particularly in larger facilities where tracking down diagnostic equipment, IV pumps, or even something as basic as a wheelchair or table can sometimes take hours — throwing schedules into disarray for both medical staff and patients.

The University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center, a 500-bed, 1.2 million-square-foot facility, solved its asset tracking problems with a real-time location system (RTLS) that has improved asset utilization and eliminated lengthy searches for missing equipment. "We spent a lot of time looking for equipment," says Jim Barnes, manager of OR support services at UCSF. "We have a huge OR with no central storage location of any sort. It was difficult to track things down when we needed them, and we'd have very expensive equipment just disappear for weeks at a time."

Used with permission from Integrated Solutions magazine.