Why Medical Asset Tracking Is Important in Healthcare

Why knowing where that scalpel is so important

Healthcare workers today have a lot of assets at their disposal, and most have to be tracked. For example, are the hospital kitchens stocked with enough low-sugar options for diabetic patients? Where are the sterilized towels for the operating theater? Does each ICU bed have a medical computer nearby that is ready for use?

Medical asset tracking systems play a crucial role in ensuring that every vital piece of equipment is meticulously accounted for. In the past, this task relied on the tedious methods of pen and paper, often leading to errors and misplacements. Today, however, we have embraced a digital revolution. Modern systems utilize advanced technologies, such as RFID, seamlessly connecting computers and hardware to create a sophisticated web of real-time tracking. This transformation not only enhances accuracy but also enhances the efficiency of healthcare operations, allowing medical professionals to focus more on patient care rather than inventory management.

What Is A Medical Asset?
Tracking Assets In Healthcare: How It's Done
Benefits of Tracking Medical Assets
Selecting the Right Medical Asset Tracking System

What Is A Medical Asset?
In healthcare, a medical asset is any piece of equipment used to diagnose, monitor, rehabilitate, or treat patients. While an asset is usually physical, like a box of gauze or a medical computer tablet, it can also be non-physical, such as electronic health records software.

Medical assets can be broken down into five different categories:

Medical Equipment
Electronics like X-ray machines, MRI scanners, and patient monitors are examples of medical equipment. Non-electronics like stretchers, gurneys, crutches, and wheelchairs also fall under this category.

Medical Consumables
Medical assets that are constantly used and need restocking fall under this category. Bandages, latex gloves, and IV bags are examples of this asset.

IT Systems
In today's world, healthcare has embraced a transformative digital landscape, where the intricate web of technology is essential to seamless patient care. The realm of healthcare IT is crucial, ensuring that every computer and network operates in flawless harmony. From the sophisticated all-in-one medical PCs that grace the walls of each patient’s room, providing instant access to vital information, to the robust routers and switches strategically positioned throughout the hospital—these technological assets form the backbone of modern medicine. Each component works tirelessly to create an efficient, interconnected environment that enhances both the patient experience and the healthcare providers’ ability to deliver exceptional care.

Pharmaceuticals
This category involves drugs that are usually expensive, highly regulated, and perishable. Surgical anesthetics, prescription painkillers, and antibiotics are examples of such assets.

Transportation
Vehicles that move the patient about the medical facilities are counted as this type of asset. Ambulances are the most well-known example. Others include utility carts and similar vehicles owned by the healthcare group.

Tracking Assets In Healthcare: How It's Done
So, what is involved in medical asset tracking?

Each asset is inventoried based on specific details. For example:

When was it purchased?
What department does it belong to?
Who ordered it?

The answers to these details and more are fed into a computer.

The asset is then assigned a unique marker or tag. In healthcare, the most common is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), though barcodes and even GPS are also used.

As the asset travels throughout the medical group, its status is followed through scanning technologies like RFID readers. Location, usage, who's using it, etc., are noted and logged. For example, the paraphernalia of phlebotomists (needles, test tubes, gloves, etc.) are marked down as they're used to draw blood from patients.

Medical asset tracking systems can be set to do more than passively record data. A specialized type, real-time location system (RTLS), can be set to geofence or track specific assets within a particular area. If the asset leaves or is removed from that area, the RTLS will alert the appropriate authorities.

Benefits of Tracking Medical Assets
Medical asset tracking systems in healthcare provide numerous benefits.

Cost savings and budget optimization
Medical groups can know how their assets are being used in real time. They can then plan how to restock inventory in the most cost-effective manner. Example: Medical tracking can show seasonal shortages of vital supplies of bandages and blood. Based on that information, facilities can stock supplies at the right time and within the hospital budget.

Improved operational efficiency
Assets are tracked so they don't affect critical operations and procedures. Surgeries, for example, aren't delayed or rescheduled due to missing or shortage of surgical tools. Nurses and similar medical staff don't waste precious rounding time looking for misplaced equipment.

Minimized downtime and errors
In the bustling environment of medical facilities like hospitals, every minute counts. The intricate dance of schedules can quickly be disrupted by the unexpected breakdown of essential equipment, such as MRI machines. Such breakdowns can lead to significant delays, causing a ripple effect of frustration for both patients and healthcare providers alike.

To mitigate these challenges, modern medical asset tracking systems come into play, acting as vigilant guardians of vital equipment. These systems are designed to monitor assets continuously, sending timely alerts when maintenance or repairs are needed. With the infusion of cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence and predictive analytics, these systems can seamlessly orchestrate maintenance schedules. This proactive approach ensures that vital upkeep occurs at optimal times, sparing the facility from disruptions during critical appointment slots.

Robust compliance management
Many medical assets, like ventilators and diagnostic machines, are highly regulated, with many requiring periodic inspections. Facilities can present real-time data to show regulators they are in compliance with the law.

Reduced theft
Medical devices, healthcare equipment, and medications play a critical role in patient care, which unfortunately makes them attractive targets for theft. Implementing medical asset tracking systems can help deter potential thieves by providing visible identifiers, such as barcodes on medication bottles and RFID tags on various equipment. In cases where theft does happen, these systems can aid in locating the missing items. Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) are particularly effective in safeguarding expensive or highly regulated assets, ensuring better security and management in healthcare settings.

Selecting the Right Medical Asset Tracking System
Healthcare groups looking to set up a tracking system should ask themselves the following questions:

What will you be using it for?
As covered earlier, medical facilities have a lot of assets. Does your group want to track all of them? Or start with specific ones and add more categories at a later date? Also, will you need additional capabilities like geofencing to keep vital assets secure?

What tags will you be using?
Each asset will need a tag to identify it. Each has advantages and disadvantages. Barcode tags will need to be scanned directly by a barcode reader. On the other hand, RFID tags can be scanned as long as they're within range of an RFID scanner, even if out of sight.

Which tracking system aligns best with your requirements?
It’s essential that your tracking solution seamlessly integrates with your tags, along with their respective readers and scanners. Will you require separate systems for each type of tag? If that’s the case, they must be capable of harmonizing and syncing with one another effortlessly. Additionally, you'll need to carefully consider whether your asset data will reside securely in the cloud, providing accessibility from anywhere, or if it will be housed on-site in robust medical box PCs, ensuring control and privacy.

What is your budget?
Medical asset tracking systems cost widely vary. Barcodes and their readers cost less than an RFID setup. Data storage costs will depend on whether it's subscription-based or a set figure, and so on.

Keeping Track of Your Medical Assets with Cybernet
Healthcare organizations need to keep track of a lot of equipment. Medical asset tracking systems help staff find the right equipment when they need it.

Medical assets include all the tools used to treat patients. Tracking these assets is essential for any healthcare facility. Today, hospitals use computers and tracking technologies like RFID tags and RTLS to manage this task effectively.

Contact an expert at Cybernet if your healthcare group is looking to track its medical assets. Many of our medical computers and tablets already have scanning technology built into them: just turn on the PC and start reading that barcode! They have multiple ports, making it easy to plug in your current and even new readers and scanners.

None of our pre-built PCs are to your liking? Not a problem! We're an original equipment manufacturer, which gives us total control over our devices. We're confident we can custom-build the computer(s) to meet your tracking wants and needs.