| Hospitals are often a fast paced, hectic | | | | equipment, reduces the amount of lost or stolen |
| environment. Instead of going in every morning | | | | equipment, increases employee productivity, |
| and knowing exactly what is expected of you and | | | | ensures patient safety, and improves patient care. |
| what obstacles you will tackle, hospital staff have | | | | The cost savings associated with these benefits |
| no idea what the day will hold. They are in a | | | | can be tremendous. |
| reactive field, responding to all types of | | | | To explain this technology in a real life situation, |
| emergency situations with no time to waste. | | | | think about a patient being rushed to the |
| Not only are hospitals busy but they are typically | | | | emergency room after a car accident occurs. The |
| encompassing a large area with multiple buildings | | | | nurses have little time to react and they need to |
| containing multiple wings, floors, and units. Trying | | | | immediately locate the team of doctors and the |
| to manage hundreds of patients, hundreds of | | | | equipment needed to treat the patient. The RFID |
| doctors and nurses, and tons of equipment | | | | RTLS provides the nurses with a means to find |
| throughout the large area cannot be done without | | | | the required resources. |
| a proper technology system. | | | | Another example is in the event of an Alzheimer's |
| This is where RFID (Radio Frequency | | | | patient staying in a hospital. Say they had surgery |
| Identification) and RTLS (Real Time Locating | | | | and are recovering for a few days. They may |
| System) come into play. RFID are tags applied to | | | | wander from their room and forget where they |
| objects. Types include patient wristbands, | | | | are or get lost in the large hospital building. The |
| employee identification cards, and equipment tags. | | | | RFID/RTLS allows the nurses to easily track the |
| Wheelchairs, gurneys, computers, respiratory | | | | patient and return them safely to their bed, |
| machines, and more are examples of tagged | | | | preventing a harmful situation from occurring. |
| equipment. Once tagged the RTLS is able to track | | | | Overall, being able to track hospital staff and |
| the objects through radio waves and report back | | | | equipment brings a large, fast paced and hectic |
| the location to the searcher. | | | | environment down to an organized and |
| By efficiently tracking people and equipment, the | | | | manageable state. Hospitals and medical facilities |
| RFID/RTLS provides a number of benefits to a | | | | would not be able to function efficiently without |
| hospital. The technology maximizes the use of | | | | the technology of RFID and RTLS. |