The Situation
Piedmont Healthcare is a rapidly growing regional health system based in Atlanta, serving nearly 2 million patients across Georgia. The enterprise faced several challenges related to its inability to locate mobile medical equipment, including inefficient clinical workflow, low productivity, and high equipment costs. Nurses struggled to find equipment and were also concerned that devices would not be available when they were needed for patients. This led to hoarding and hiding assets, which only exacerbated the issue. Piedmont Healthcare did not have a reliable way to measure equipment utilization or determine purchasing needs. With substantial inefficiencies related to moveable medical equipment and its management, equipment shrinkage and rental costs were exceeding $100,000 annually and growing. In 2006, Piedmont Healthcare began its journey with Real-Time Location System (RTLS) technology by implementing a passive radio-frequency identification (RFID) system that limited the organization to locating moveable biomedical equipment. However, without insight into its equipment utilization, the organization was unable to properly track and improve distribution processes.
The Solution
Piedmont Healthcare identified its asset management challenges and redesigned its processes so that clean and operational mobile medical equipment is always available. While acquiring other hospitals, Piedmont Healthcare made the strategic decision to standardize with CenTrak’s Enterprise Location Services™ to ensure maximum benefit across the entire health system. VIZZIA Technologies manages and maintains Piedmont Healthcare’s RTLS technology and provides comprehensive data analytics to change provider utilization behaviors. This knowledge has been transferred to Piedmont’s other facilities to help the organization reduce excess asset inventory, decrease rental expenses, improve clinician satisfaction and maximize workflow efficiencies across the enterprise.
Standardizing the Piedmont RTLS infrastructure offers us the opportunity to make the work environment for our clinical staff better, safer, and more beneficial for patients.
- Biomedical Executive
As Piedmont Healthcare continues to grow, standardizing the RTLS platform and optimizing asset management processes across all of its facilities has resulted in significant ROI. Utilizing RTLS technologies from CenTrak – in addition to VIZZION™ software, training, and guidance – Piedmont Healthcare has effectively solved its equipment distribution and maintenance challenges. Patients no longer wait for the critical equipment they require (prior wait times were 30 to 60 minutes), while nurses and biomedical engineering technicians spend significantly less time searching for equipment.
The Benefits
The organization is saving approximately $510,000 annually by eliminating lost or stolen equipment, streamlining its equipment fleet, reducing rentals, and decreasing maintenance costs. Piedmont Healthcare now has the ability to share and rent expensive equipment, such as specialty beds, gurneys and wheelchairs, across the health system. The improved medical asset management has also led to enhanced satisfaction among the nursing staff. Annual surveys showed a 43% increase in nurses who felt confident the equipment distribution process would deliver the equipment they need when they need it.
