One of Region Skåne’s primary areas of responsibility is healthcare. Hospitals are often under pressure to provide the best possible care with limited resources. As a result, they can’t afford to lose track of their equipment. The Telia Tracking real-time location system (RTLS) is helping hospitals in Skåne to overcome this challenge.
Telia’s RTLS uses radio-frequency identification (RFID) readers, Wi-Fi infrastructure and a combination of active and passive tags to keep track of equipment. The active tags are battery-powered and can be read at a greater range than the passive tags, which are powered by energy from the RFID readers. Currently, active tags are used in emergency rooms. By using existing Wi-Fi infrastructure for the tracking of active tags, Telia Tracking builds on the investments already made by the region’s hospitals. RFID readers will be placed around all the hospitals to enable the RTLS to receive information from passive tags, which are currently used to track staff uniforms. Eventually, passive tags could be used to track personal protective equipment, bed sheets and small medical devices. Staff can use their computers or smartphones to locate whatever has been tagged.
Tracking of potentially lifesaving equipment ensures that it is in the right place at the right time, increasing efficiency and helping to reduce loss and theft. In addition to basic location data, there are plans to enable users to be able to see if equipment is readily available, currently in use or needs to be repaired, as well as when it was last sanitized.
Ultimately, the use of Telia Tracking should enable hospital staff to concentrate on providing the best possible care for patients, rather than on trying
to keep track of medical equipment. Equipment tracking also increases patient satisfaction and decreases the likelihood of potentially harmful delays to treatment.
