Healthcare IT News: MIAMI – The University of Miami Jackson Memorial Hospital (UM-JMH) Center for Patient Safety has deployed a hand washing compliance program with the use of real-time locating solutions.
The RTLS technology will be supplied by two Michigan-based providers: Dynamic Computer Corp., and Versus Technology. The hand hygiene compliance pilot will employ the use of infared-radio frequency technology that will be implemented as a standalone system, or as an integrated part of a network wide RTLS system.
“Americans don’t expect to get additional infections when they go into the hospital," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, said earlier this month. "Stopping health care associated infections and improving the quality of care is one of our top priorities."
With the implementation of the RTLS technology the University of Miami looks to reduce the percentage of bacteria-related infection that patients and physicians contract from not washing with bacteria-killing soap.
The solution uses small IR-RF sensors in the medical center’s soap dispensers that identify staff ID badges as well as monitor when and where physicians and other staff wash their hands. Medical center employees then hear a confirmation sound after the sensors successfully captures the identity of the person and the time and location of the hand-washing event.

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Earth Times: SAN DIEGO, CA -- 08/10/09 -- Skytron (www.skytron.us) and Awarepoint (www.awarepoint.com) today announced deployment of their Real-time Location System (RTLS) (www.awarepoint.com/solutions.html) at San Joaquin Community Hospital, the premier provider of healthcare services in Bakersfield and the surrounding cities of Kern County, California. This deployment adds the Adventist Health System to the Skytron Asset Manager, powered by Awarepoint, hospital client base. The San Joaquin Community Hospital enterprise-wide deployment covers nearly 350,000 square feet and more than 1,300 assets, and includes both standard asset tags and temperature monitoring tags.
San Joaquin Community Hospital is initially tracking its high value mobile assets including wheeled beds, gurneys, computers on wheels, IV and PCA pumps, telemetry and vital signs monitors. In addition to ease of locating assets, the RTLS solution provides staff with proactive insight into the movement and status of equipment assets. For example, date-driven reporting streamlines the task of tracking and recording equipment nearing scheduled maintenance requirements; stationary asset alerts notify staff of equipment that is not in use, decreasing costly idle assets and reducing equipment rentals required. San Joaquin Community Hospital is also using temperature monitoring tags (www.awarepoint.com/Tags.html) to oversee pharmacy refrigerator temperatures, and alert if temperatures are out of range.
"We are always looking for innovative tools to support patient care initiatives and particularly in these economic times, must be very strategic in our purchase decisions. With Skytron Asset Manager, we are able to improve patient care; while at the same time have a positive impact on staff efficiency with proactive tools to reduce our equipment costs. We looked at this as a true win-win-win situation for our patients, our staff and our bottom line," said Sam Itani, San Joaquin Community Hospital's Vice President.
"Skytron Asset Manager, powered by Awarepoint, delivers a well-planned and coordinated RTLS solution that puts cost saving, tracking flexibility and location awareness at the fingertips of a healthcare provider. Gained efficiencies improve performance at every level instantly boosting real-time productivity, lowering equipment costs, maximizing visibility and improving workflows," said Skytron President & CEO David M. Mehney.

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Market Wire: XIAMEN, CHINA--(Marketwire - August 11, 2009) - Aruba Networks, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARUN), a global leader in wireless LANs and secure mobility solutions, today announced that the Xiamen Women and Children Hospital (XWCH) has deployed Aruba's wireless solutions for mobile EMR, patient registration applications, RTLS, and video surveillance. Located in China's Fujian province, with a population 3.5 million, the 250-bed XWCH serves two-thirds of the province's women and children with a staff of more than 500. XWCH is the only local hospital to provide a combination of healthcare, disease prevention, medication, scientific research, family planning, and reproductive health services in one unit. The new wireless network was deployed to enhance staff mobility and productivity while improving overall patient care.
"Our hospital is focused on continuous quality improvement with respect to both services that affect patient care and our internal operations," said Yang Guangcai, Director of the Information Technology Department. "Aruba's mobility solutions have allowed us to integrate all patient-related information into one system that is accessible to authorized staff from anywhere within or outside of our facility. Physicians can now securely retrieve and view patient data at bedside or from off-site, enhancing both patient care and community outreach without compromising the integrity of patient records." Hospital admission was previously a time-consuming task for both staff and patients. Now patients can register electronically using self-service kiosks, and avail themselves of free wireless guest network while waiting for service. To increase the volume of patient services, RTLS is used to locate essential medical equipment by continuously tracking high-value assets. "RTLS has largely eliminated manual searches for misplaced equipment, allowing us to expedite service and minimize patient waiting time," continued Yang. "Combined with our wireless surveillance system, RTLS had also reduced the volume of lost and stolen equipment."

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Business Wire:
DELRAY BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--VeriChip Corporation (NASDAQ:CHIP) (“VeriChip”), a provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems for healthcare and patient-related needs, announced today that it has sold the VeriTrace™ system, including 1,000 RFID microchips, for disaster preparedness and emergency management needs to Kentucky’s Green River District Health Department.
VeriTrace, created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina where it was used by the Federal Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team, was designed to assist in the management of emergency situations and disaster recovery using implantable RFID technology. The VeriTrace system includes a unique implantable RFID microchip, a VeriTrace Bluetooth(TM) handheld reader, a customized Ricoh 500SE Digital Camera capable of receiving both RFID scanned data and GPS data wirelessly, and a Web-enabled database for gathering and storing information and images captured during emergency response operations. This database ensures the precise collection, storage and inventory of all data and images related to remains and the associated evidentiary items. This also allows the recreation of an accurate and complete reconstruction of a disaster setting, crime scene or similar setting where recreation is necessary.
Marc Poulshock, Vice President of VeriChip’s Implantable and Emergency Management divisions, said, “Our continued outreach helps health care organizations and various levels of government recognize the role the VeriTrace System, the only end-to-end solution to use implantable RFID tags for disaster preparedness and emergency response, plays in meeting their needs.”

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SYS-CON Media : SAN DIEGO, CA -- (Marketwire) -- 07/21/09 -- Awarepoint Corporation, a provider of real-time location solutions (RTLS) to the healthcare market, today announced that it has been selected to the 2009 AlwaysOn Global 250 List. The Awarepoint asset tracking management solution (analogous to indoor GPS) provides location awareness through a ZigBee-based wireless sensor network that offers enterprise-wide location, status and movement visibility of both equipment and people, allowing for real-time remote monitoring and proactive management of critical resources. The AlwaysOn Global 250 Award is given to private, emerging technology companies creating new business opportunities in high-growth markets. Awarepoint was selected by the AlwaysOn editorial team based on demonstration of growth, market opportunity, quality of innovation and customer traction.

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mobihealthnews: FDA OKs St. Jude wireless implant: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted St. Jude Medical approval for its its Accent RF pacemaker and Anthem RF CRT-P, which feature secure, wireless transmission of data that the clinician or a home monitor can track. St. Jude claims its system is unique as an “integrated system of pacing devices with wireless telemetry from implant through follow-up.”

Aurora gets asset tracker: Aurora Health Care has tapped Patient Care Technology Systems (PCTS), a subsidiary of Consulier Engineering, to deploy its Amelior Tracker system throughout its St. Luke’s Medical Center campus. The Amelior tracker will be used to automatically track and manage over 3100 hospital assets throughout their 538-bed, 1.65 million square foot center. As part of the deal Aurora will integrate a Real-time Location System (RTLS) from Skytron, powered by Awarepoint to provide location data capture to the Amelior Tracker end-user software.

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RFID Journal: The 4.1-million-square-foot hospital is deploying hybrid infrared-RFID technology to monitor vaccine temperatures, while future plans include tracking assets, patients, employees and hand hygiene.

By Claire Swedberg July 21, 2009—Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (WFUBMC) has begun an ambitious wireless deployment that will ultimately include tracking patients, staff members and assets throughout its 4.1-million-square-foot facility, but is initially focused on tracking temperatures within its 300 refrigerators and freezers. The size of the medical center makes this the largest health-care tracking deployment, according to technology vendors implementing the system. Patient Care Technology Systems (PCTS) is implementing its Amelior Tracker software application in conjunction with the InTouchCare real-time locating system (RTLS) from Newton, Pa., health-care tracking technologies company CenTrak. The InTouchCare system employs infrared transmitters and sensors to determine the room-level location of its 900 MHz RFID tags.

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EE Times Asia: Noting that the healthcare industry has always been an early adopter of Wi-Fi, a new study from ABI Research stated that revenue from sales of Wi-Fi-enabled healthcare products worldwide will total $4.9 billion in 2014. This represents an increase of nearly 70 percent over the current figure.

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www.versustech.com: The St. Louis VAMC, John Cochran Division has selected Enterprise VISion™, a real-time location information system (RTLS) from Versus Technology, Inc. (Versus) to improve efficiency and safety while helping to manage their growing patient populations. The Versus RTLS, used in hundreds of healthcare facilities for process improvement, will display the real-time location of patients and staff, automate and display staff-to-patient assignments, and reduce manual data entry through custom rules designed to “trigger” events, alerts and automatic data collection. Versus will provide real-time data on key performance indicators (KPI) such as patient wait time to assist with quality improvement initiatives. Versus will also provide the St. Louis VAMC with a custom reporting mechanism that will allow the facility to collect historical data on patient visits, patient and staff interactions, and patient volume relative to other parameters such as time of day or staffing levels. These reporting features will make it possible for the St. Louis VAMC to evaluate, modify and improve processes based on actual and automatically collected data, rather than perceptions, best guesses and error-prone data entry.

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PR WEB: CenTrak, a leading provider of Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) for tracking equipment and people indoors, today announced the release of its new Temperature Tag (TempTag) for use with its InTouchCare 2.0™ asset and people tracking system. CenTrak's TempTag is unique in its ability to track, wirelessly report and help ensure correct temperature levels of refrigerators and freezers in a healthcare setting. The devices can generate alerts when the temperature goes above or below preset parameters, and provide temperature logs which eliminate human error and the cost of manual temperature documentation. The TempTag's ability to monitor a large range of temperatures, from cryogenic to room temperature, means no additional monitoring devices are needed. Other temperature monitors function with higher battery consumption resulting in limited battery life of a few months, while CenTrak's TempTag battery life is measured in years.

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