Ki Yap MBBCh, BMedSc, Presenter: Nothing to Disclose

Angelo Dalli PhD, Abstract Co-Author: CEO, Charonite Co. Ltd Developer, Charonite Co. Ltd

The BoSS Med system saves time that is wasted in locating patients and assets, which cuts down on inefficiencies by automating a large number of current manual processes. This enables better management of patient flow, medical personnel and resources, helping to cut down on costs while maintaining quality of service and patient satisfaction.

In a growing radiology department, patient and asset management plays a vital role in reducing cost and maintaining efficiency by preventing overtime and delays. Often a computer records a patient’s location on the ward or in a corridor. However, it must be frequently updated to maintain an accurate map. A significant amount of personnel time is lost from manually tracking patients moving in and out of a radiology department. Using an autonomous tracking system (BoSS Med) patient locations are mapped in real-time.

The BoSS Med system is a secure software for tracking patients using secreted radiofrequency identity tags (RFID) which are detected via strategically placed readers in doorways. The system then generates a real-time map of the patient’s location.

The monitoring system is, in the long run, saves costs and highly adaptable to track human movement as well as calculating assets. The tagging system monitors assets within a department which improves passive security and alerts when equipment counts do not tally. The application potential for a radiology department includes monitoring of workforce distribution, auditing assets, job scheduling, and transmission of protocols and advice to ward nurses. Job histories are stored and processed using the workflow management engine. Jobs can be transferred and assigned to employees as needed. An audit trail of all job movements is created automatically and statistics can be reported either in aggregate or on an individual employee level. The system utilizes existing wireless networks which makes retrofitting simple and cost effective.

Yap, K, Dalli, A, Autonomous Patient and Asset Tracking System to Improve Management in the Radiology Department.  Radiological Society of North America 2010 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, November 28 - December 3, 2010 ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2010/9014571.html