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A 200-bed hospital that switches to RFID asset tracking can save about $600,000 every year, as it helps staff find the equipment they need instantly and there’s less need for costly replacement purchases, according to a study in Perspectives in Health Management. Those savings can increase even more when RFID tags connect into a wider IoT network that does far more than just track equipment location. IoT asset tracking alerts staff whenever a tagged item goes where it shouldn’t, which helps prevent loss. Usage data shows hospitals exactly what equipment they actually need, while access logs and IoT location data work together to reduce theft. And continuous sensor monitoring means maintenance teams can fix problems before they become expensive emergencies, which altogether gives hospitals far greater control over their budgets.
Research shows that hospitals lose millions of dollars every year due to lost or stolen equipment, with staff unable to find mobile assets one in every five times they’re needed. IoT-enabled RFID tracking can put an end to this huge loss. Small tags are fixed to individual pieces of hospital equipment, and these give out signals that are picked up by readers installed throughout the hospital. The IoT network will send an automatic alert whenever a tagged item enters an unauthorized area or leaves the building. This stops losses before they get a chance to happen.
Staff can check the IoT dashboard for the real-time location of any piece of equipment, which means they don’t have to waste time searching wards physically and reduces the temptation to simply order a replacement. Assets are far less likely to go missing when each item is always visible across the IoT network. That, in turn, means far less budget is likely to be wasted on needless replacement purchases and rentals.
Lost and missing equipment also forces a lot of hospitals to overstock on portable equipment by as much as 10 to 20%. This is so that something will always be available even when certain items are misplaced. Mobile medical carts are a common example of equipment that can be easy to lose track of as they’re constantly moved between departments, and hospitals often hold more of them than necessary as a result. IoT-enabled RFID tracking tech tackles this as it records how equipment is used in addition to where it’s located. That usage data gives staff a clearer picture of what equipment the hospital actually needs, so they can stop buying more than necessary as a buffer.
Equipment can also be lost due to theft, with up to 20% of a hospital’s mobile assets reported as either lost or stolen at some point. Each missing asset also costs a whopping $3,000 on average to replace. Medical carts are particularly vulnerable here, as their compartments are accessed by multiple staff members across shifts, which can make it difficult to trace missing items without a digital record. Innerspace healthcare carts tackle this problem with a compatible lock system that uses a cloud platform to log every instance of who uses and accesses the cart. When an item does go missing, that access log can be cross-referenced with the IoT system's location data to build a precise picture of what happened. This makes loss harder to hide and easier to prevent.
Asset tracking can also help save money and reduce maintenance costs by up to 25% as it makes preventative maintenance possible. IoT sensors fixed to hospital equipment can stream performance data to a centralized system in real time. This data, which includes info on usage cycles, temperature, vibration patterns and operational hours, can then be analyzed by machine learning algorithms. These can flag potential equipment failures two to four weeks in advance of them happening with up to 95% accuracy. This lets maintenance staff act on an alert rather than servicing equipment on a fixed schedule or, worse, not until it’s broken down already. Equipment also simply lasts longer when problems are caught early, which reduces the frequency of costly replacements.
IoT asset tracking can help hospitals save money and become more efficient in multiple ways. It’s an investment bound to pay off for hospitals looking to take back greater control over their budgets.
