Karmanos Cancer Center Deploys Versus Advantages RTLS for Monitoring Patient Flow

The Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Center is Michigan’s first cancer center to manage patient flow utilizing the Real-time Locating System (RTLS) from Versus Advantages at its new Dresner Family Clinic for Hematologic Malignancies & Stem Cell Transplantation facility.

Need for reducing patient wait times was highlighted through a patient satisfaction survey conducted in 2010.

While intending to construct Dresner Family Clinic, Karmanos determined that technology will simplify transition and improve management of patient flow in the extensive 16,000-square-foot area that integrates two separate clinic environments. The center opted for Versus Advantages Clinic solution, which is a RTLS-based automated workflow management system.

By providing the widely-used RTLS that supports healthcare for automated patient flow, Versus enables Karmanos to regulate the visits of over 250 patients per week with the help of the newly-constructed Dresner Clinic's 16 exam rooms and 13 infusion rooms.

Versus Clearview Badges are worn by patients as well as staff at the cancer center for communication of room-level location via low-powered, safe infrared (IR) and radio frequency (RFID) signals. Using Rules-based clinical workflow automation software, staff can have real-time situational awareness. As a result, they can better monitor patient progression and room status on four 42-inch Glance-and-Go overhead screens and workstations.

Using the system, the patient and staff workflow can be monitored to detect the issues hampering process improvement and to improve patient safety.

Versus displays enables caregiver to know the progress required in each patient for effective treatment. The automated communication of patient status accelerates the treatment process. Versus also communicates room status like occupied, needing cleaning, empty, or reserved, thereby improving room turnover.

The success of Versus Advantages at the Dresner Family Clinic has inspired Karmanos to expand the utilization of the RTLS.

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