AT&T Inc. announced the availability of a complete portfolio of radio frequency identification (RFID) tracking offers for health care providers. The RFID solution will enhance visibility into the operations of hospitals and other health care facilities.
AT&T is the first network services company to provide a comprehensive RFID solution for the health care industry. The company is offering the devices, infrastructure and systems needed for full-scale tracking applications — everything from tags and software to networks and data storage. In addition, the solution generates customized reports that can be used to enhance patient safety, increase operational efficiency and improve financial performance.
More specifically, it provides a Wi-Fi-enabled location-based service to track equipment, devices and patients. For example, a hospital staff can track the current or a historical location of mobile assets — such as blood pressure monitoring devices, EKG machines, gurneys, infusion pumps, crash carts, computers-on-wheels, wheelchairs and laptops — from a Web browser.
The solution will also alert health care staff if at-risk patients have wandered or been moved from their room. In addition, employees can use the data to manage mobile asset inventory across a single health care facility or multiple sites.
"In the demanding health care environment, enhanced visibility and accuracy regarding the location of people and critical assets is crucial to providing optimal clinical care," said Brad Hunter, director of technology solutions for the American Hospital Association. "By introducing mobile technology, such as RFID, in the health care workplace, staff can save time, eliminate unnecessary costs, reduce theft and unnecessary inventory, and, most important, deliver better patient care."
AT&T’s RFID solution works seamlessly with a local wireless network infrastructure and enables hospital staff to benefit from precise, on-demand asset tracking. A Wi-Fi-based RFID tag sends a wireless signal at regular intervals to keep the system and asset locations up to date. This information is available to users who have access to a Web browser, anywhere on a health care facility’s wireless network.
In addition, synchronized alerts provide information on location-based events, such as a patient leaving his or her room or a shortage of lifesaving equipment, and these events can be communicated immediately to staff or to existing hospital applications for reporting purposes.
"Health care organizations can now turn for the first time to a network services company to meet all of their RFID needs for products and services," said John Regan, vice president — Business Marketing for AT&T. "Our RFID solutions help healthcare professionals and organizations make the most of their resources by ensuring the highest quality of patient care, while, at the same time reducing costs and increasing return on investment."
Source: AT&T