AeroScout, provider of Unified Asset Visibility solutions for the healthcare industry, has announced that the John Radcliffe Hospital, part of the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust in the UK, has implemented AeroScout's Asset Tracking & Management and Temperature Monitoring solutions. Utilizing its Cisco Unified Wireless Network and AeroScout Real-Time Location System (RTLS) implemented by BT, the John Radcliffe Hospital is tracking and managing critical equipment and monitoring refrigeration units that contain important, temperature-sensitive items.
The John Radcliffe Hospital is one of many hospitals across Europe that AeroScout and Cisco work with to improve operations, productivity and patient care. Together, AeroScout and Cisco are addressing the demands of European hospitals for Wi-Fi-based asset tracking and management, temperature monitoring and patient and staff safety applications.
The Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals NHS Trust provides a wide range of clinical services, medical education, training and research for the local Oxfordshire population, as well as for patients from a wide geographic area. The John Radcliffe Hospital is the main accident and emergency site and is a large hospital, covering close to 70 acres. Following the success at the John Radcliffe Hospital, the Trust is planning to expand the solution to the Churchill Hospital in Oxford.
"The John Radcliffe Hospital needed a solution to more effectively manage critical medical equipment," said Craig McVeigh, Senior Network Consultant at the John Radcliffe Hospital. "We selected AeroScout's solutions based on the success AeroScout has had with hospitals around the world. We are confident that we will drastically decrease equipment loss, improve efficiency and positively impact patient care."
With AeroScout's Asset Tracking and Management solution, staff at the John Radcliffe Hospital can quickly find critical medical equipment, such as bariatric beds and infusion pumps. Since starting to use the solution, the staff spends less time looking for equipment and can spend more time caring for patients. Additionally, in the event of a safety recall, users are able to quickly locate and recover the equipment in question. This type of visibility helps save time and improves the hospital's ability to quickly service equipment for patients.
"With Cisco and AeroScout, we have been able to manage our operations more efficiently, increase asset utilization and streamline equipment maintenance and recalls. The solutions also lead to enhanced patient satisfaction and care," said Nathan King, Infrastructure Technology Manager at the John Radcliffe Hospital.
AeroScout's MobileView software enables staff to search for and manage medical equipment and other assets, and includes an open architecture for integration with a wide range of hospital systems. By utilizing the hospital's Cisco Unified Wireless Network, the John Radcliffe Hospital was able to keep its total cost of ownership low and avoided the need for purchasing, deploying and maintaining a proprietary RFID network.
The John Radcliffe Hospital is also using AeroScout's Temperature Monitoring solution to automate the monitoring of refrigerators that contain medications, vaccines, blood and other critical items. Wi-Fi Temperature Tags measure temperature on a defined interval and transmit the data wirelessly to AeroScout's MobileView software. If a temperature reading deviates from the range specified as safe, alerts are sent to appropriate staff members. This saves clinicians the time needed to manually monitor temperatures and supports patient safety. The hospital is also using Temperature Monitoring to monitor the temperature of equipment that generates heat, such as digital x-ray machines. Using AeroScout's solution, staff is alerted when the equipment becomes too hot, thus enabling the hospital to address problems before it is too late.
"Cisco and AeroScout have been working together to educate the healthcare market about the transformational benefits hospitals can experience with Wi-Fi RTLS and have many mutual customers across Europe and around the world," said Terry Espiner, Regional Manager of Healthcare at Cisco. "The deployment at the John Radcliffe Hospital is a great example of the benefits of both companies' solutions. We're proud of what Cisco, AeroScout and BT have been able to accomplish working with the John Radcliffe Hospital to help it achieve its goals for improved efficiency and patient care."
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