Focusing on the use of patient tracking, benefits the systems add to a medical practice, and its emerging integration with EHRs.

1. Patient Tracking
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Disclaimer: Nothing that we are sharing is intended as legally binding or prescriptive advice. This
presentation is a synthesis of publically available information and best practices.

2. Patient Tracking Key Points
• What is patient tracking?
• Why is patient tracking important?
– Benefits
– Metrics
• What analytic reports should be utilized?
• What is the future of patient tracking?

3. What is Patient Tracking?
• Technology-based systems designed to track the status
or location of patients as they move through a medical
facility
• Provides broad snapshots of practice efficiency
• Real-time tracking
– Real Time Location Systems (RTLS)
– Automatic identification and tracking
• Semi real-time tracking
– Manual data entry
• Current patient tracking system adoption is less than 5
percent
– Expected to grow significantly

4. Patient Tracking System Features
• Common features
– Medical facility floor plans
– Easy to read metric dashboards
– EHR integration
– Current location and status
– Metrics history log
• Additional features
– Staff tracking
– Equipment tracking software
– Staff and patient alert systems
– Hand hygiene tracking integration
– Clinical workflow automation
– Lab work integration

5. Improve Quality and Safety of Care
• Patient-provider interaction times are
increased
– Improves patient education
• Expedites order execution and care transitions
• Improves response for time-based care
• Ability to track infectious disease exposure

6. Increase Patient Satisfaction
• Decreases patient wait times
• Shortens length of stay
• Eliminates patient misplacement or oversights
• Minimizes patient walk-outs
• Keeps patients and family more informed
throughout the visit
• Results in higher HCAHPS patient satisfaction
scores

7. Positive Impact on Staff
• Provides greater capacity without increasing staff levels
– Improves bed turnover time 40-50 percent
• Peak patient volume data allows for more effective
scheduling
• Improves staff productivity analysis
• Strengthens team communication and responsiveness
• Improves staff morale and lowers employee turnover

8. Positive Return on Investment
• Improves quality measures compliance and time-based
care milestones
• Increases customer throughput leads to faster revenue
generation
• Higher customer satisfaction ratings directly impact
Medicare payments
• Better recordkeeping reduces potential liability
• 95 percent of organizations that implemented real-time
tracking systems have seen a positive return on
investment

9. Recommended Utilization of Reports
• Data to generate long-term improvements in
care delivery
– Average and max wait time from check in
– Average and max wait time between intake and
physician arrival
– Average and max wait time for check out
– Number of hand offs per patient
– Patients who left without being seen

10. Patient Tracking Vendors
• Versus
• PatientTrak
• CenTrak
• TeleTracking Technologies
• And many EHRs

11. Quirk Healthcare Bed Board
• Web-based patient tracking system
– Patient tracking
– Cycle time data
• Displays on large screen or individual workstations
• EHR integration
• Features:
– Floor plan displaying patient and provider location
– Four dashboard dials display:
• Average wait time
• Patients waiting
• Number of patients in clinic
• Longest wait time
– Matrix showing acuity, assigned provider, and location
– Real time feed of clinical actions

12. Bed Board Interface

13. Future Outlook
• RFID Tracking Systems
– True real-time tracking via radio frequency tags
• Wearable badges and bracelets
– Completely automated data mining and system feedback
– Communicates with other tagged equipment
• Hand sanitizers for hand hygiene compliance
– Currently used to track staff and equipment with future
growth in patient tracking systems
• External tracking systems and monitors
– Currently in use via cell phone apps
– Expected to grow

14. Future Outlook
• Biomedical device paired with RFID tracking
– Stores Patient basic information
• Name
• Address
• Insurance
– Stores medical data
• EEG
• Blood Pressure
• Sugar level
• Temperature

15. Q&A
ben.quirk@quirkhealthcare.com