RadarFind Offers Unique Tracking Solution
Location systems can provide materials management and healthcare staff with improved capabilities to track and locate equipment within the facility. The RadarFind is a unique Real Time Location System that provides benefits for infection control and surveillance, as described by the GSA Technology Council.
The software tracking system used with the RadarFind creates a log of the device’s location. This can information can be correlated with specific patients who used the device. When an antibiotic resistant infection is noted, this data can be used to evaluate causal relationships between patients and equipment or devices that are contaminated.
This data can be used to support prevention efforts and reduce contamination. As well, this system incorporates notification for hospital staff when cleaning and sanitizing is required.
One facility that has already implemented the system is the Halifax Regional Medical Center in Northeastern North Carolina. Staff at the facility has noted that this tracking system offers benefits by ensuring that equipment is clean. As well, devices that have been used in isolation settings require different maintenance and cleaning approaches. The RadarFind system can be used to notify staff that equipment should be cleaned before it is removed from the isolation setting.
The system tags provide two different sorts of information. The first piece of information relayed is whether the device is available, in use, or requires cleaning. This is tracked by the server that has been implemented. This status information is also displayed on the device with a color code, which allows healthcare providers to easily assess device status.
The RadarFind system was developed to work easily with the existing hospital operations and infrastructure. As such, no new wiring is needed and the system operates independent from the critical IT network within a facility.
The locators or readers are simply plugged into standard hospital-grade electrical outlets. This leaves other outlets available for medical equipment and other devices. Advanced ID tags are attached to equipment and devices, which is tracked by the readers. Hospital screens display information gathered from the tracking software.
February 1, 2008 Related topics: IT & software