RTLS Selection

At 2010 HIMSS I presented a case study titled: "Real Time Location Systems and Clinical Workflow Management: Are they fit for each other?"   It was a product showcase presentation sponsored by Centrak.  In the talk I went in depth about selection criteria for RTLS.  Here are my points from that speach:

1.   Room Based Accuracy:  One of the key challenges with any Clinical Workflow Management System is to be able to determine the location of a patient, asset or staff accurately down to the room/bay level.  There are many different RTLS solutions that deliver a variety of levels of accuracy, from meters down to inches.  However, it is vital for a Clinical Workflow Management System to be able to determine which side of the wall a patient is located.  If the RTLS is accurate down to 12 inches but can not reliably communicate which side of the wall those 12 inches are located, the location data will not be accurate and therefore Clinical Workflow Management System will fail.   Grady used the following criteria in selection:

• RTLS will NOT communicate any incorrect location data; no or delayed data is better than wrong data.
• RTLS will not promote "jumping" where the system constantly changes the location of a tag due lack of definite location identification in complicated physical infrastructures.
• Changes in physical environment will not change the behavior of the RTLS.
• RTLS will have functionality to segment open areas down to smaller zones or down to patient bays.

2.   Ease of Implementation:  Network infrastructure needs must be minimized, with least amount of required cabling, including network or power cabling.  In addition, any cabling that will be pulled needs to be standards based.  Post-implementation testing and configuration needs to be simple and should not last longer than the physical installation phase.

3.   Flexibility:  The system will be easy to reconfigure / adjust post-initial implementation.   Post-implementation networking will be minimized. 

4.   Customizability:  The RTLS will be able to adopt to complexities of the physical infrastructure.   Bleeding (where a tag is picked up from outside the designated area,) cross-contamination (where a tag is picked from a facing bay / area) will need to be able to prevented with system configuration  using standard tools that the system provides.  In addition, the system will provide additional software customizability to ensure accurate and reliable operation.

5.   Reliability:  The RTLS will be reliable and the performance will be easy to monitor.  Same tags will be the same way under similar circumstances.   Button pushes will be received regardless if the tag is correctly identified in a location or not.

6.   Speed :  The RTLS will be able to communicate a location change within 10 seconds or less, less being preferable.

7.   Network Traffic:  The RTLS will not burden the underlying network infrastructure with traffic.

8.   Battery Life:  Battery life of all components used by the system will be minimum 1 year or more.  All battery failure events will be accurately communicated. 

9.   Multiple Buttons:  The RTLS tags will have multiple buttons.  These buttons are used by the Workflow Management System to collect events from the path of the patient, therefore 2 or more buttons are preferable.