Process Management Solution

Enhance Process Improvement Initiatives Using Radianse RTLS Technology

The Radianse Process Management solution gathers location and status data from all tagged assets, patients and staff members using active radio frequency identification (RFID) technology. The information collected becomes valuable data to help understand each tagged item’s activity, patterns, movement, intervals and relational proximity. The data is analyzed by special algorithms and a complex business rules engine to drive process improvement metrics.

Some examples of processes that may be targeted with this solution are:

• Emergency Department incoming patient triage
• Patient admission and discharge
• Patient flow related to X-rays, CT Scans, MRI Scans and medical lab tests
• Perioperative on-time starts
• Equipment sterilization cleaning
• Patient-doctor interactions

A few of the benefits realized by implementing Radianse's Process Management solution include:

• Precise location reported and recorded for every tagged asset
• Continuously tracks movement history for actual path determination
• Measures length of time at every functional stage in a process
• Understand asset interactions and associations
• Reliable historical data available for detailed analysis and trending
• Enhanced visibility of true asset activity and utilization
• Data is captured electronically, eliminating possible human error

Collecting reliable data is crucial to any active process improvement program. Measuring and collecting data is the core element that will be used to determine how a process is performing, if improvements are being achieved and if milestones are obtained. Capturing valuable data is the key driver to achieving results. As important, is being able to readily view a meaningful informational dashboard that displays real time metrics and statistical information to monitor live status and on-going progress.

Engaging RTLS in any process improvement program will help to produce accurate information on a 24/7 basis. More importantly, once the RTLS system is in place, the data is collected electronically and eliminates any human error that could potentially occur.

RTLS plays an important role in data capture & analysis

1. The first step is to Benchmark the current process that you desire to improve. This becomes your starting point representing current conditions and known characteristics of process. Document all aspects of the process, such as flow, triggers, people and assets involved, known issues, current metrics, and any other information that best characterizes the current system.

2. Create a set of process improvement Objectives that you desire to achieve. The better you can define the desired outcomes for the specific process you are attempting to improve, the better your chances for success. An example objective would be, a hospital would like to achieve a door-to-doctor time of less than 30 minutes for every patient entering the Emergency Department.

3. Introduce a real time location Tracking infrastructure (RTLS) and active-RFID components into the environment to automatically and continuously collect positioning data for assets, patients and staff using active-RFID technology. Each tag continuously reports its status and location information. The data is collected in a centralized server.

4. Analyze the live and historical data to understand patterns, workflow, interactions and associations. This accurate information will bring visibility and help you understand exactly how process functions. Rather than relying on data logged by manual practices, the RTLS data is captured electronically and 100% factual.

5. Customized Reports may be generated to show precise patient wait times, actual equipment utilization, satisfactory hygiene compliance, patient-staff interactions and more. Intelligent information dashboards that are updated in real time help you see the big picture of what is happening in your environment.

6. Once real-world data is captured and analyzed, Performance Metrics can be established to help measure improvements and desired expectations. The RTLS system will incorporate these metrics and trigger alert conditions when they are met or exceeded to help drive further process improvements.

Gaining accurate data from as many sources as possible is strategically important to drive a successful process improvement program. When data is collected automatically and continuously, without human input and in a real time fashion, you will have a greater impact over the end result of driving positive change in the process being targeted.