WiFi-ID from Kirtech to track patients and equipment in hospitals

A WiFi-ID or hybrid WiFi-ID/RFID system can be used to track patients, doctors, expensive equipment or controlled drugs in hospitals in real time.

Tags can be attached to the ID bracelets of patients, worn as badges or belts or other methods. Tags may be attached to all patients or perhaps only to patients requiring special attention (such as patients with Alzheimer's, psychiatric patients, patients with highly communicable diseases, patients under protective custody, or newborn babies.

WiFi-ID technology can also provide an electronic link for wirelessly communicating patient data. An instant assessment of critical equipment and personnel locations is also possible through the implementation of WiFi-ID/RFID technologies.

These applications can be combined with access control to allow only authorised personnel to access to critical areas of the hospital.

With WiFi-ID/RFID, the capabilities can be of major benefit to a hospital. For example, let us say a hospital determines that to maximise patient safety in life-threatening situations, they must ensure there are two defibrillators on every floor. With WiFi/RFID, if there are less than two, an alert notification is sent to staff and action can be taken long before the staff starts looking for one during an emergency.

With a Kirtech WiFi solution, a hospital can leverage their existing 802.11 wireless networks without any modifications to the existing infrastructure. By allowing staff to know the location of the patient, the equipment needed, and the medical personnel required, it is much easier to pull both personnel and equipment together, especially in a rush situation. Recent projects have demonstrated that Wi-Fi can even get patients through the hospital system faster. This not only improves equipment utilisation and management, it improves their patients' experience.