Wi-Fi-based RFID solutions increases care efficiency at Belgium’s Jan Yperman hospital

At Ypres, Belgium, a rural region where, during the Great War, many battles were fought and thousands of soldiers died, Jan Yperman hospital is now taking the lead in healthcare efficiency and quality. Wi-Fi-based RFID solutions from AeroScout are ensuring swift and productive use of expensive hospital equipment, fast retrieval of disoriented patients and improved safety of hospital nursing staff.

When the regional hospital Jan Yperman completed construction of its new site, the option to install a robust wireless network soon proved to be the right one.  With the help of AeroScout and the local intregrator Belgacom/Telindus, the hospital was Belgium’s first to track in real-time medical and logistical equipment, patients and staff. “With advanced technology being implemented for the first time in Europe in such a comprehensive manner – patient tracking, hospital-wide asset management and operating room workflow – we had to select the right team to be successful”, remembers IT Manager Francky Deleu. “We were happy with the Belgacom/Telindus experience during the installation of our core and Wi-Fi network, so our choice of them as our integrator for the RFID solutions was obvious. They recommended their partner AeroScout, the market leader in this field, thanks to its unique Wi-Fi- based solutions, “chokepoint” technology and broad range of applications. We didn’t hesitate.”

Efficient deployment of assets and improved safety of staff.

About 250 access points within the wireless network of Jan Yperman are fiber-connected with each other via Ethernet network switches. Asset management and tracking of people happens with AeroScout tags which are connected to equipment, bracelets or ankle straps or placed inside of refrigerators and incubators to monitor temperatures. The tracking of assets and people is done with T2 tags, mounted to beds, mattresses, medical and logistical equipment, and to bracelets worn by disoriented patients. Nursing staff in the E.R. and night shift staff use T2 tags with panic buttons for safety in case of aggressive patients. Jan Yperman hospital also uses AeroScout T5 Sensor Tags for humidity and temperature monitoring and management.

The installation of hundreds of tags allows the hospital to manage its valuable assets efficiently, and ensure that they aren’t hidden or lost. “Medical pumps for instance typically “travel” between departments and floors and eventually get lost or may be hoarded”, explains Norman Cleenewerck, manager of the Biotechnical department. “This prevented us from doing periodic maintenance and eventually resulted in greatly reduced availability. Now that we can locate the pumps easily, we can also optimize their availability. It is also true that equipment which doesn’t move regularly is probably superfluous where it is and should be moved to where it can be of more use.” In addition, the tracking solution shows which equipment has recently been into the technical department for maintenance or repair.

Cleenewerck is conscious of the cost savings generated by AeroScout’s RFID solutions.  The use of wireless technology with condition monitoring tags in refrigerators, allows for fast and cost-efficient deployment in refrigerators anywhere in the hospital: it takes 15 minutes to connect a tag from inside a refrigerator to the Wi-Fi network and integrate it with the facilities management application.

Transparent workflows offer peace of mind

AeroScout “Exciters” provide immediate chokepoint detection of tagged assets or persons that pass through a gate, doorway or some other tightly defined area. At Jan Yperman they are used when location needs to be reliable and highly accurate, such as entering elevator or escalator zones, opening specific closets with equipment inside or tracking patients that are close to one another. Exciters attached to the ceiling at every room entrance in the polyclinic surgery department indicate exactly the whereabouts of a patient. “The patient locations are integrated with our workflow planning tool. We always accurately know the status of the patient: in the pre-op zone, the operating rooms and recovery rooms, or in the relaxation seats waiting for the clinician to discharge them or somewhere in between”, smiles Quality Coordinator Eddy Delporte confidently. “It’s a good feeling to be able to inform family and relatives accurately about the situation of the patient without calling all over the place to find out. The clear visibility of the workflow brings confidence and trust to our nursing staff.”

Care Manager Jan Blontrock sees considerable care improvement opportunities with the time gains for nursing staff as they no longer lose hours looking for the right equipment. “It’s quality time well-spent with the patients – and they all appreciate it.”

Better quality and more control on business processes

“The integration of data on our primary processes offers our organization an opportunity to improve productivity, while creating a more efficient and safer environment for both patients and staff.” confirms Finance & Administration Manager Christophe Mouton, one of the executive sponsors of the project. “RFID-solutions on a Wi-Fi network show fast cost savings, but the real business case is about the quality of our business processes and the way we control them.”

From a management viewpoint this is the key benefit of the RFID technology: it allows us to analyze and optimize in detail our workflows and processes, while at the same time improving employee satisfaction. On top of that, we manage to create a safer working environment.

The integration into the workflow of the polyclinic surgery department allows Jan Yperman today to report throughput times flawlessly, answering requirements of public authorities. However, O.R. and geriatrics are only the beginning. There’s still a lot to do to achieve a true integration of all patient data in the electronic patient record. “With the expertise of our integrator Belgacom/Telindus, we     are confident that we will meet our goals. Their knowledge, acquired through the implementation of the AeroScout solutions, is instrumental in our capacity to move forward quickly and accurately.” concludes Christophe Mouton.

Jan Yperman, Ieper, in 2008:

• 100 clinicians
• 1.000 staff
• 15.000 inpatients
• 19.000 day clinic transactions
• 140.000 day clinic consults