A Medical Equipment Tracking System With No Readers to Install

What is a medical equipment tracking system?

A medical equipment tracking system shows where each mobile unit is and where it has been. Pumps, wheelchairs, beds, monitors and other durable medical equipment move all day, between wards, buildings and sites. The system puts each one on a map with the time it was last reported, so the search starts in the right building.

Installed systems, often called RTLS, work inside the buildings they are fitted in. They need readers or gateways fixed to ceilings and walls, and they see only the units inside. The comparison with installed systems covers what they cost.

A crowdsourced tag needs no readers, gateways or wiring. It broadcasts a Bluetooth signal, and any phone that passes reports where it heard the tag. These networks are large (Apple counts over a billion iPhone, iPad and Mac devices, and Google over a billion Android devices). Its battery lasts up to six years, depending on its size.

How does a hospital equipment tracking system work?

Hospital equipment tracking with tags relies on phones that pass through the building. A hospital equipment tracking system built this way needs nothing fixed to walls or ceilings. It works in four steps.

1. A tag is fixed to each unit, out of sight on the frame or under a handle.
2. Any phone that passes hears the tag and reports where it heard it.
3. The dashboard keeps each report with its time. A site boundary around each building sends an alert when a unit arrives or leaves.
4. When a unit is needed, the map shows the building where it was last reported, with the time.

Where mobile medical equipment ends up

Mobile medical equipment ends up wherever it was last needed, and that is not always inside the hospital. A tag keeps each unit on the map, at the building where a phone last reported it. Pick a unit below to see where it went.

Loan and rental equipment that leaves the site

A tag keeps loan and rental equipment on the map after it leaves the site. Draw a site boundary around the hospital and set an exit alert on each loaned or rented unit.

When a unit leaves, the alert shows in the activity feed. Its time is the first report from outside the site. That dates when a bed left with the rental company, or when a loaned pump went out. Before a rental term ends, the map shows which rented units are still on site.

Equipment shared between hospitals and clinics

One medical equipment tracking system can show the units shared across every hospital, clinic and medical office in a group. A site boundary goes around each building. When a pump arrives at another site, an alert records the move.

The activity feed lists each arrival with its time. It shows which units are away at another site, so they can be sent back. The geofence guide shows how to draw each site.

Which medical equipment tracking devices fit which units?

A small tag suits pumps and monitors, a sealed tag suits wheelchairs and carts, and the longest-lasting tag suits beds and hoists. These medical equipment tracking devices come in three sizes.

See the three tags up close →

The hospital asset tracking guide covers where to mount a tag on wheelchairs and infusion pumps.

What should medical equipment tracking software do?

Medical equipment tracking software should show every unit on one map and keep its history.

• Every report kept. Each location report is stored. You see where a unit has been, as well as where it is now.
• Site alerts. An alert arrives when a unit reaches or leaves a site, with the time.
• Export for inventory. The unit list downloads as a spreadsheet or a report for an equipment count.
• A login per colleague. Each person signs in with their own account.
• An API and webhooks. Locations can flow into the maintenance system that holds service records. The data export and API guide covers the formats.

The tracking software answers where. Service dates, recalls and inspection records stay in the maintenance system. The CMMS vs asset tracking guide explains the split.

What to expect from tags on medical equipment

A tag keeps a dated location record for every unit, and an alert for each time it leaves a site.

• Building-level position. The position comes from the phone that heard the tag. It gets you to the right building or site, and the report time shows how recent it is.
• Updates come from passing phones. Any phone that passes reports the tag. A busy hospital updates all day. A locked store room or a quiet clinic overnight updates less often.
• Location, not device data. A tag reports where a unit is and when it came and went. Alarms, usage and service history come from the device itself and the maintenance system.
• Where, not who. A tag records where equipment is. It does not record who used it, and it is not for tracking patients.