Each year, hospitals nationwide throw out an estimated $765 billion of unused and expired supplies. These supplies are paid in full yet never reach a patient in their lifetime. So why is a surplus of medical equipment going to waste every year?
On average, a hospital spends 15% of its budget on medical supplies, including gowns, wheelchairs, heart monitors, pharmaceuticals, etc. However, without a way to track this equipment, nurses often spend an extended amount of time searching for them or not finding them at all, leading to wasted products.
Strategic Systems offers a solution that will save money, increase productivity, improve patient care, and decrease the chance of error. Hospitals can automate and track their equipment and reduce waste with Zebra Technologies Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and Real-Time Locating Systems (RTLS) systems. Using RFID printers, tags can be created and applied to any product, which will then be tracked and monitored in real-time by RFID antennas and RTLS.
Everyone in the hospital benefits from asset tracking, including patients. Nurses can spend upwards of 40 hours a month searching for equipment. That is 40 hours that can instead be spent providing patient care. RFID tracking will also decrease the time spent prepping operations/patient rooms.
But RFID tracking is not just about locating items needed for care, as it can also establish a chain of custody over specimens and track them as they move through the hospital. Keeping specimens safe is an integral part of patient confidentiality as they are moved from the laboratory to around the hospital.
Asset tracking can also reduce the cost of theft as RFID tags will set off an alert, saving millions of dollars per year. You can also set identification tags to ensure that only authorized personnel are allowed into certain areas or rooms, reducing access and chances of lost products.
Strategic Systems offers consultations and solutions to equip you with the right tools and devices. We offer a wide range of Zebra Technologies products to help you take the first step into automation and tracking.
Contact Strategic Systems today so we can assist you in finding out how asset tracking can improve patient and worker experiences while modernizing hospitals.