TRACKING FOR TIME SAVINGS

Active radiofrequency identification is a promising way to improve workflow management by providing real-time location and identity data. For now, the cost of active RFID tags and the complex technology required to implement it are limiting adoption among hospitals. Still, a handful of Most Wired technology leaders use RFID to solve business and clinical problems. Avera Health, Sioux Falls, SD, deploys active RFID technology through a Web portal to track the whereabouts of patients, medications and bags of blood in the emergency department. Keith Livingston, SVP and CIO at ThedaCare, Appleton, WI, recommends active RFID for well-defined functions. It used to take physicians about one minute to log in to systems in the ED, ICU or on other nursing floors.