RFID Wandering Patient Tracking

Patient wandering and elopement exist in all healthcare facilities, and is deemed a true emergency when it happens. According to a recent Journal of American Nursing article, only 46% of those patients who went missing were actually found within five hours, 36% were found between five and 12 hours later, and 9% required searches of 12 to 24 hours. The remaining 9% required searches longer than 24 hours, but were more likely found dead than alive. The challenge for healthcare facilities is to balance patient safety and security, while also providing a sense of patient freedom and comfort to limit unnecessary stress and anxiety.

SmartTraxx PA’s RFID patient tracking system notifies facility personnel if patients attempt to exit the facility through monitored doors. SmartTraxx utilizes a combination of the latest in Access Control and RFID Asset Tracking technology to monitor facility exit doors. The system is designed to monitor the area around the exit doors point for RFID tags worn by patients. When a tag is ‘seen’ at the door, the system notifies personnel of the event via a workstation alarm and a local alarm at the door location.

• The alarm report displays the patient name and tag number, the duration of how long the alarm occurred and the person that canceled the alarm. These reports are designed to display alarm activity by the day, week or monthly. Users can also view alarms by patient.

• When an alarm occurs personnel can respond with one of two actions – the first is to acknowledge the alarm on the workstation. The second is for personnel to go to the location to investigate the alarms cause and then reset the alarm using their personnel badge.

• RFID door devices uses wireless technology to prevent unauthorized access and to link RFID data to the application computer. The software is very intuitive and easy to use without training or extensive manuals.

• Improve the quality of care through reliable patient protection & freeing your caregiver staff to focus on the job at hand.

• Lower operational costs by preventing patient harm, avoiding costly lawsuits & insurance increases & eliminating time spent by staff searching for missing patients.

• Integrate with existing hospital systems to ensure your patient protection is part of your larger facility strategy.