Improving Healthcare Efficiency using Real Time Location

描述(由申请人提供)： Radianse Inc.(前身为Sentinel Wireless，LLC)专门为医疗保健环境创建了一种自动、连续、实时的室内定位系统(IPS)。IPS安装在标准网络上，并与现有数据库兼容，使其部署简单、廉价且用户友好。 调查人员相信，该系统将通过实现对患者、工作人员和临床流程的监控和分析，提高医疗保健的安全性和效率。此外，该系统将提供有关设备使用情况的数据，并将减少临床工作人员搜索设备所花费的时间。 在这项SBIR的第一阶段，研究人员确定，原型IPS在空间和时间上都准确可靠地跟踪了工作人员和患者。具体地说，数据表明，与训练有素的观察员记录地点和时间的“黄金标准”相比，可以在大约30秒内确定被标记的工作人员和病人的位置，至少达到房间的水平。 这一第二阶段的SBIR应用旨在证明安装在MGH的IPS可通过减少患者等待时间和减少手术流程时间来衡量，从而在临床和研究环境中提高效率。具体地说，基于第一阶段的成功结果和IPS强大的量化平台的利用，第二阶段将分析MGH围手术期的当前流程。第二阶段的目标是： -根据临床反馈重新设计和部署硬件和软件，以实现商业化。 -量化IPS的临床效用--减少外科护理期间延误的发生；减少寻找病人和设备所花费的时间；减少等待时间和病人流动时间；以及提高工作人员满意度。 -量化使用IPS与使用标准IPS或不使用IPS时的成本效益和未来投资回报率。 有了这个可靠的数据库，研究界就可以解决系统效率低下和患者护理改善的紧迫挑战。这项研究将使决策者能够实施必要的运营变化和技术采购，以显著影响成本和患者护理。调查人员相信，这项工作将在临床环境中产生立竿见影的效果，并提供在整个医院实施IPS所需的文件。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Radianse Inc. (formerly Sentinel Wireless, LLC) has created an automatic, continuous, real-time indoor positioning system (IPS) specifically for the healthcare environment. The IPS is installed on standard networks and is compatible with existing databases, making its deployment simple, inexpensive, and user-friendly. The investigators believe the system will improve the safety and efficiency of healthcare by enabling the monitoring and analysis of patients, staff and clinical process flows. In addition, the system will provide data on equipment utilization, and will reduce the time the clinical staff spend searching for equipment. In Phase I of this SBIR, the researchers determined that the prototype IPS accurately and reliably tracked staff and patients in both space and time. Specifically, the data indicates that the location of tagged staff and patients can be determined to at least the room level and within approximately 30 seconds as compared to the "gold standard" of trained observers recording locations and times. This Phase II SBIR application proposes to demonstrate the IPS installed at MGH results in increased efficiencies in a clinical and research setting as measured by reduced patient waiting times and decreased surgical flow-times. Specifically, based on the successful Phase I results and utilization of the IPS's powerful quantitative platform, Phase II will analyze current process flows in the MGH perisurgical setting. The aims of Phase II are to: - Re-engineer and deploy hardware and software based on clinical feedback for COMMERCIALIZATION. - Quantify the Clinical UTILITY of IPS-on reducing occurrence of delays during surgical care; reducing time spent looking for patients and equipment; on reducing wait time and patient flow time; and on improvement in staff satisfaction. - Quantify the COST-EFFECTIVENESS and ROI in the OR of the Future using the IPS compared with standard OR without IPS. Armed with this solid database, the research community can then tackle the compelling challenges of system inefficiencies and patient care improvements. This research will then allow decision-makers to effect the necessary operational changes and technology purchases to significantly impact cost and patient care. Investigators believe this work will have immediate and dramatic utility in the clinical environment and provide the needed documentation to implement the IPS throughout the hospital.