Healthcare facilities have come to realize the importance of equipment management and its organization-wide impact and interdependence with staff productivity, operations, asset performance and lifecycle costs. With the average rate for asset/equipment utilization at approximately 35%, asset tracking has become a viable area of improvement that can be achieved with measurable results. Selecting an accuracy-based asset tracking solution that delivers 100% certainty enables a hospital to transition from asset tracking to more complex asset management and supply chain management use cases. - Enterprise visibility to asset location and status - Reduces time searching for equipment - Increases staff satisfaction - Automates PAR level management - Reduces shrinkage - Improves clinical workflow - Integrates with CMMS

1. Confidential & Proprietary / Please do not copy or distribute.
Moving from Asset Tracking to
Asset Management
Why RTLS Accuracy Matters

2. Introduction
Use of Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) for locating assets in
healthcare facilities has enjoyed a steady growth in popularity
over the past decade. RTLS systems that can achieve greater
accuracy, speed and performance are becoming new
requirements among healthcare decision makers. That’s because
100% certainty-based accuracy is what unlocks the true value of
RTLS. This eBook will explore the distinction between asset
tracking and asset management -- and how RTLS accuracy can
help hospitals achieve greater value and return on investment.
Also included is a real-world case study from Mike Kohler,
Director of Materiel Management at Mission Hospital Regional
Medical Center in Orange County, CA. Mr. Kohler successfully
installed a certainty-based RTLS system (CenTrak) to enable Asset
Management use cases.
Asset Tracking
Asset Tracking simply delivers just basic “asset visibility”. Often
this is achieved using estimated location technologies like Wi-Fi
and ZigBee. It’s great to have a general idea of where things are,
but just “knowing where things are” only delivers a fraction of
the potential benefits.
Asset Management
Asset Management on the other hand requires much greater
location certainty. Facilities can achieve substantial value by
implementing enterprise-wide asset management solutions.
Such as:
• PAR-level management
• Movement/interaction rules
• Alerts/alarms
• Process-improvement expertise
ASSET TRACKING vs. ASSET MANAGEMENT
What’s the difference?

3. Asset Management:
Healthcare Applications
PAR-Level Management
This is the ability to set accurate PAR levels
based on RTLS data. PAR-Level management
includes automating equipment
replenishment before departments run out.
Also, staff members will never need to look for
equipment, which reduces equipment
hoarding and increases staff satisfaction.
Movement/Interaction Rules
Asset management RTLS deployments enable
the development and ongoing use of
movement/interaction rules. These rules may
be driven by each facility to enhance efficiency
and safety.
Alerts and Alarms
Asset Management applications should be
able to leverage accurate location data to
trigger alerts and alarms such as:
• Cross-contamination alerts to reduce
infections
• Exit alarms to prevent theft and loss
• Alerts can be device- and/or department-
specific
Process-Improvement Expertise
Collection of 100% reliable asset utilization
and asset interaction data may be used to
improve business processes. RTLS data which
is 100% accurate can support process
improvement and effective change
management to alter work habits.
ASSET TRACKING vs. ASSET MANAGEMENT
What’s the difference?

4. Gen2IR™ = Precise Location (Room 101)
Second Generation Infrared (Gen2IR) will not pass through walls and
does not suffer from traditional line-of-sight limitations. Therefore
when a tag reads a room number, there are no errors.
Clean Utility Room
Hallway
Room 102Room 101
RF-only “error”
At 20’ to 30’ radius – Clean Utility Room, Hallway, Rm 101 or Rm 102
At 10’ radius – Room 101, Clean Utility Room or Hallway
Clean Utility
Room
Hallway
Room 102
Room
101
PAR-level management
Proximity of in-use, soiled and available assets present a challenge for PAR-
level management; inaccurate location data = inaccurate PAR-level settings
Available / In Use Status
Asset availability can be determined with logical business rules, but only if
the RTLS has location certain accuracy.
Cross Contamination Alerts and Reporting
Ensuring pumps and equipment went through the proper cleaning protocol
requires accuracy.
10 feet 20 feet 30 feet
Fig 1: Estimated Location
Accuracy
Does not support
Asset Management
Fig 2: Certainty-based
Location Accuracy:
Supports Asset
Management
applications
THE IMPORTANCE OF ACCURACY

5. RTLS applications beyond Asset Management require even greater location accuracy and location update
speed. RTLS selection should strongly consider future use cases to maximize value and ROI of the
deployment.
Pre and Post-Op
Bed-level locating
Emergency Department
Bed-level locating with rapid
location update speeds
Operating Rooms
Easy installation for non-disruptive
full hospital deployment
Patient Transit/ Hallways
Deploy RTLS in all areas
Staff Locating
Deploy RTLS in all areas
Room-level, sub-room level
Enable reliable nurse rounding
compliance monitoring
ASSET TRACKING vs. ASSET MANAGEMENT
What’s the difference?

6. Mike Kohler
Mike Kohler is the Director of Materiel Management of Mission
Hospital – a top performing hospital of St. Joseph Health System, and
a 552-bed acute care hospital located in south Orange County,
California.
Mike is a frequent presenter/speaker within St. Joseph Health
System on Materiel Management. He is a Mission Hospital
Continuing Education Faculty Member, holds a Bachelor of Science in
Human Biology, and has over 22 years working in healthcare. Mr.
Kohler is a lean black belt whose focus is the implementation of
process improvements in supply chain and equipment management. Mission Viejo & Laguna
Beach, CA
Mike Kohler
Director of Materiel
Management,
Mission Hospital Regional
Medical Center
ASSET MANAGEMENT CASE STUDY
Mission Hospital

7. Background
Mission Hospital, a 552-bed facility with two campuses
located in Mission Viejo and Laguna Beach, California, was
experiencing significant costs relating to moveable medical
equipment and its management. Shrinkage exceeded
$150,000 annually, and rental costs were excessive. There
was also a significant burden on staff members. Nursing,
Biomed and Equipment management staff spent a great deal
of time searching for equipment; they were using a manual
“seek and find” method. Equipment shrinkage along with an
inability to find equipment caused clinical staff to hoard
equipment. This habit caused less equipment to be available.
Finally, there was no reliable way to determine equipment
utilization and purchasing needs.
RTLS Solution
Mission Hospital deployed asset management software to
solve these equipment distribution and maintenance
problems. The software provider selected CenTrak’s Clinical-
Grade RTLS™ which uses Second Generation Infrared
(Gen2IR™) to track the location, cleaning and maintenance of
its moveable medical equipment, resulting in tremendous
savings for the hospital. The asset management software
provider deployed CenTrak in tandem with its own software
to deliver an end-to-end asset management solution. CenTrak
was selected because of its certainty-based accuracy (room
and bay-level), performance (near immediate update speeds)
and ease of installation (almost entirely battery-powered). In
addition, the software provider took advantage of CenTrak’s
Clinical-Grade Locating™ technology to create advanced rules
and alerts that no other RTLS is capable of delivering.
Using CenTrak’s Clinical-
Grade Locating™ technology,
Mission Hospital is now able
to track the location,
cleaning and maintenance of
its mobile medical
equipment.
ASSET TRACKING vs. ASSET MANAGEMENT
What’s the difference?

8. • Rate of lost or stolen
devices dropped from
13.8% to 0%
• $150,000 to $200,000
annual savings due to
the reduced rate of lost
or stolen devices
• More than 50% increase
in nursing satisfaction
relative to equipment
availability
• Significant increase in
equipment utilization
Following the system’s installation, the equipment utilization rate
for tagged items rose significantly. The rate of lost or stolen
devices dropped from 13.8% to 0%, resulting in an annual savings
of $150,000 to $200,000 worth of equipment that had been lost
each year prior to installing the system. Equipment is proactively
delivered with accurate par levels and replenishment. End-users
are no longer hoarding and nursing satisfaction relative to
equipment availability improved by more than 50% from pre-
implementation levels.
RETURN ON INVESTMENT & RESULTS
CenTrak Case Study

9. Many RTLS systems have proven to provide real benefits to healthcare by helping to locate assets,
improve asset utilization and ultimately reduce asset expenses. However, to realize the maximum
financial and clinical benefit with your RTLS deployment, accuracy, speed and reliability of the
location data is essential.
Make sure to consider an RTLS infrastructure that can deliver 100% certainty-based accuracy.
Anything less than 100% will not truly unlock the potential of your RTLS deployment. Accurate
(certainty-based) location along with fast and frequent location updates are the key ingredients
needed for RTLS-enabled workflow automation.
For more information about this eBook, please contact:
Adam Peck
Director of Marketing
CenTrak, Inc.
o: (215) 860-2928
e: apeck@centrak.com
Learn more about CenTrak at www.centrak.com and see how much asset tracking or management can
save your facility with the CenTrak RTLS calculator.
© 2014 CenTrak, Inc. All rights reserved
ASSET TRACKING vs. ASSET MANAGEMENT
In Summary