COVID-19 has caused healthcare facilities to adapt quickly. However, what can get lost in all of the hubbub of activity in terms of healthcare response and patient data is the cost associated with responding to a major pandemic, as well as the resources needed to respond to an overwhelming demand.

Symtech Solutions has been offering cutting-edge technology applications for the healthcare industry in communication systems and life-saving devices since 1982. Our team’s mission is to help you offer the best patient care possible while ensuring the safety and health of your staff. We aim to streamline your workflow, improve communications, and leverage technology to do so. Below, we’ll go over how you can use technology to manage COVID-19 resources. Contact our team to learn more!

Anytime there is a crisis, such as with COVID-19 or even with the World Trade Center Towers, an elevated demand for equipment and resources takes place. So how do you get the resources to those who need it the most? The answer partly lies with technology.

RTLS

Real Time Locating Systems (RTLS) are amazing pieces of technology that were first introduced to civilian and healthcare use in 1998. RTLS identifies and tracks objects or people in real time, mostly within buildings. This is done by wearing RTLS tags or installing them on objects or machines. In the healthcare industry, RTLS is mainly used to track medical equipment inside the facility. This can also be used to record the time a person or an object was in that location.

For healthcare facilities that have implemented RTLS systems, they are game changers, especially in a time crunch, such as an emergency situation. The way RTLS works for asset tracking purposes is quite simple. Anyone can access the location of the machine via an app or on a computer. The program will tell you where your equipment is, and you retrieve it. It’s truly that simple. No more time will be lost spent combing the hallways and floors for an IV pump or an EKG machine. The amount of time saved is enormous, and in emergency situations, time is of the essence in order to prevent a decline in the patient.

Track the Use of Assets

When the use of medical equipment is not understood and maximized, it’s extremely difficult to know how many of what type of equipment is necessary. With equipment hoarding, it may seem like you are constantly running short of a certain piece of equipment when in reality there were many sitting unused. Add in the fact that hospital equipment either goes missing or is stolen every year, and this is a huge concern for budgets. These two problems can lead to your healthcare facility over purchasing equipment, thereby depleting your resources at a time when you need them the most. By tracking equipment using RTLS technology, you will know where your equipment is and can study how often it is being used.

Track Maintenance

Medical equipment has to be sterilized, maintained, and tested for quality purposes on a regular basis. By utilizing asset tracking, you can create records of these equipment duties easily. In case of an audit, you have all you need in one place. This helps eliminate equipment that has not been maintained or sterilized and equipment that has been overly sterilized because no one could remember it if it was done.

Track Performance

Inevitably in hospital situations, some equipment gets used more than others. This means that this equipment needs to be maintained more. By tracking its use, you’ll be able to know when a certain piece of medical equipment needs service or replacement. This can give your hospital an insight into equipment use and a better way to plan for equipment expenditures, which can be a big chunk of the budget.

When it comes to crises, how you respond matters — both in the manner and in the care and equipment. Keeping your patients calm is of the utmost importance, and being able to have the resources you need on-hand saves lives.

Symtech Solutions offers the best electronic communication systems and life-saving devices to healthcare facilities. Since 1982, we’ve been leading improvements in patient care through leveraging technology that will save time and money. Our RTLS systems help you to locate staff, patients, and equipment so that you can respond when a crisis hits. You’ll save time spent looking for personnel and equipment, as well as money from equipment disappearing, or by ordering too many of a device you have enough of. In addition, you’ll improve patient safety and the safety of your medical personnel as well. You can also use this tracking system to better assign equipment to certain locations in your hospital facility where it is needed the most. With data reports, you’ll be able to understand your equipment usage and budget for replacements as well.

In addition to our locating and tracking systems, we offer a wide range of technology applications that you can use in your healthcare facility and that can be integrated with our other systems that make it simple. We offer wireless nurse call systems from Acuity, wander management, infant security, digital whiteboards, and Mimo Touch-free Temperature Screening Kiosks that all can be integrated with RTLS technology. By having one system for all of your healthcare technology needs, you’ll be simplifying your tasks significantly. This EarlyResponse centralized reporting system only adds to patient care, safety, and security of your assets and facility.

In a COVID-19 world, hospitals and healthcare facilities need to be prepared for anything. By using the technology and rapid response systems provided by Symtech Solutions, you can ensure your resources are maximized and well-appropriated. Join the other healthcare facilities and centers in Eastern Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, the District of Columbia, and northern Virginia by reaching out to our team, or signing up for an informational webinar on our products and services today!