RealTime Consulting & Transformation
Achieve operational excellence. Outperform in patient care.
RealTime Consulting & Transformation supports you in getting the most value from your RTLS implementation and in achieving your individual goals around optimizing the patient experience, increasing staff satisfaction, reducing costs, and increasing revenue. Our Value Partners for Healthcare Consulting provide actionable insights on how to optimize performance, workflows, and facilities based on a deep understanding of the applications of RTLS technologies, advanced data analytics, lean methodologies, and operational expertise. Our proficient healthcare consultants strive to maximize value for your healthcare enterprise. And that value, as we see it, derives from excellence. When equipped with accumulated real-time information, they are even more capable of pursuing excellence for and with you through digital transformation, performance improvement, and lean change management programs.
Discover how RTLS can help to transform care delivery in various departments, e.g. emergency or radiology.
Our Value Partners for Healthcare Consulting will support you in designing your individual RTLS solution or will use existing RTLS implementations and data to identify improvement potentials.
Click on each process step to discover how the different stakeholders use RTLS and how they are affected positively:
How do I keep track of each patient?
Have everything in view: After check-in and triage, patients receive an RTLS badge. It continuously provides the system with information on the location of the patient, which is the basis for wait time calculations and more.
How do I know how long a patient has been waiting?
Shorten wait times for emergency patients: RTLS provide a clear overview of every patient, allowing nurses to easily track their location, next appointment, and wait time.
How long does it take for a patient to be classified?
Streamline workflows: RTLS provide RealTime visualizations of the check-in and triage process, allowing decision-makers to drive clinical and operational performance improvement.
How much longer do I have to wait?
Offer mobile patients more comfort: RTLS track the wait time for each patient and send them a notification when to come back to the waiting area. This allows them to wait somewhere else, for example, in the cafeteria – improving patient experience.
How long has the patient been waiting to be examined?
Keep a status overview: Due to the patient badge, RTLS enables nurses to easily track patients at every step. They can see where patients are, when their next appointment is, and how long they have been waiting.
Where are the wheelchairs and stretchers and how many are available?
Easily track your assets: RTLS identify and track the location of assets.This saves time for clinical staff because they do not have to search for it – and money for the hospital because RTLS will trigger an alarm if an asset leaves a defined area.
Is an examination room available?
Keep an eye on room availability: RTLS provide an occupancy report for each examination room. So, nurses always have an overview of which room is available and where to send the next patient.
How do I know into which examination room I have to go or bring the patient?
Automate processes: RTLS know who the next patient is and which examination room is available. A patient information board shows the name of the patient and indicates to which examination room he or she has to go. Porters will receive a notification of which patient they should bring to which examination room.
Where is the ultrasound and is one available?
Easily track your assets: RTLS identify and track the location and availability of mobile assets like ultrasound systems. This saves time for clinical staff because they do not have to search for it – and money for the hospital because RTLS will trigger an alarm if an asset leaves a defined area.
How can I keep an eye on capacity and patients?
Everything at a glance: RTLS show the availability of beds in real time – how many are occupied and for how long. Also, an indicator will signal when a patient can be discharged.
How can I update the status of the bed and book the cleaning process efficiently?
Automate organizational processes: Once the patient has left the holding area, RTLS indicate that a bed has become vacant and automatically initiate the bed cleaning process.
Admission & Discharge
Is a bed available for the patient?
Confidently assign patient beds: If a patient needs to stay at the hospital, the nurse has to find a suitable bed on the right ward. RTLS automatically track the beds of each department in the hospital and provide a RealTime status message, making it easier to assign a bed in collaboration with bed and/or case management.
Click on each process step to discover how the different stakeholders use RTLS and how they are affected positively:
Porter
Where are the wheelchairs and how many are available?
Easily track your assets:
RTLS identify and track the location of necessary assets, e.g. wheelchairs. This saves time for clinical staff because they do not have to search for it – and saves money for the hospital because RTLS will trigger an alarm if an asset leaves a defined area.
Who are the next patients, and where do I
pick them up?
Streamline workflows: RTLS help optimize your porters’ task list on when to pick up which patient. RTLS also provide navigation information for the shortest route.
Patient and Staff
How can I minimize infection risks?
Enhance safety for both patients and staff: Create a virtual check-in and waiting room for patients, allowing them to stay outside or e.g. in their car. RTLS will automatically inform the patient when to enter the radiology. This helps reduce the infection potential and offers both patients and staff peace of mind.
Offer mobile patients more comfort: RTLS estimate
the waiting time of each patient and display it on a patient information board. This allows them to wait somewhere else, for example, in the cafeteria – improving patient experience. Patients automatically receive a notification when to come back to the waiting area.
Changing/Hot waiting
Increase safety: RTLS automatically indicate when the patient can proceed to be imaged. Afterward, RTLS signal when the patient can leave the Nuclear Medicine area again. Also, a notification is triggered if the patient leaves the defined zone too early.
How do I know when to go to which changing room?
Automate patient flow: RTLS automatically indicate on the patient information board which patient can proceed when to which changing room – saving clinical staff time because they
do not have to pick up the patient.
How long do I have to wait?
Shorten waiting times: Based on big data, RTLS know the average time patients need to get changed. As a result, the patient information board indicates the next patient to go to a changing room in time for the imaging room to become available – helping reduce idle time and thus waiting times for patients.
How do I use my resources more efficiently?
Enhance patient throughput: As soon as the patient leaves the imaging room and enters
the changing room again, RTLS automatically indicate the next patient to enter the imaging room. This helps increase efficiency by reducing unnecessary waiting times for both patients and clinical staff.
Click on each process step to discover how the different stakeholders use RTLS and how they are affected positively:
Who are my next patients, and where do I pick them up?
Streamline workflows: RTLS help optimize your porters’ task list on when to pick up which patient. RTLS also provide navigation information for the shortest route.
Patient
How long do I have to wait?
Improve patient experience: RTLS estimate the waiting time for each patient and display it on a patient information board. This allows them to decide if they stay in the waiting area or wait somewhere else. In addition, patients receive a notification when to come back to the waiting area.
Is this the right patient?
Increase patient safety and staff confidence: When patients wear an RTLS badge, clinical staff can quickly check and confirm the identity of the patient and the planned procedure as well as whether the patient has any intolerances or allergies. Also, an automatic alert can indicate whether an incorrect patient is brought to the Interventional Suite.
Who is my next patient and when does the
intervention start?
Keep
your staff informed: RTLS provides clinicians with a clear overview of their
task list – who their next patient is and when the intervention starts. RTLS
will notify the clinician on time when to go to the Interventional Suite.
Intervention
Where are my devices?
Easily track your assets: RTLS identify and track the location of assets including ultrasound or video laryngoscopes. This saves time for clinical staff because they do not have to search for it – and money for the hospital because RTLS will trigger an alarm if an asset leaves a defined area. Furthermore, RTLS can facilitate the annual inventory check.
How can I easily track the procedure time?
Keep your KPIs under control: RTLS automatically track the times of an intervention, how long a patient had anesthesia, and more. This helps increase the accuracy of documentation and saves time and effort for clinical staff because it significantly reduces manual documentation.
Where do I have to take the patient?
Streamline workflows: RTLS help optimize your porters’ task list and automatically indicate when the patient leaves the Interventional Suite. This ensures that the porter can pick up patients on time – and knows where to take them.
How can I initiate the cleaning process efficiently?
Automate organizational processes: As soon as
the patient has left the Interventional Suite,
RTLS automatically initiate the cleaning process.
When the cleaning is complete, RTLS indicate that
the Interventional Suite is available, and that the
next procedure can start.
How to speed up the recovery process?
Use gamification for motivation: Depending on the intervention, patients receive a recovery plan tailored to their needs. RTLS support both patient and clinical staff in managing the recovery plan – from suggesting suiting ways to walk, for example, to monitoring compliance of the recovery progress.
Click on each process step to discover how the different stakeholders use RTLS and how they are affected positively:
Who are my next patients, and where do I pick them up?
Streamline workflows: RTLS help optimize your porters’ task list on when to pick up which patient. RTLS also provide navigation information for the shortest route.
Patient
How long do I have to wait?
Improve patient experience: RTLS estimate the waiting time for each patient and display it on a patient information board. This allows them to decide if they stay in the waiting area or wait somewhere else. In addition, patients receive a notification reminding them to keep an empty stomach or when to come back to the waiting area in time to be prepared for the operation.
Is this the right patient?
Increase patient safety and staff confidence: When patients wear an RTLS badge, clinical staff can quickly check and confirm the identity of the patient and the planned procedure as well as whether the patient has any intolerances or allergies. Also, an automatic alert can indicate whether an incorrect patient is brought to the OR.
Who is my next patient and when does the surgery start?
Keep
your staff informed: RTLS provides clinicians with a clear overview of their
task list – who their next patient is and when the intervention starts. RTLS
will notify the surgeon on time when to go to the OR.
When will the patient be back?
Enhance transparency: RTLS offer clinical staff real-time information on where patients are and when they will be back on the ward. This helps improve staff planning and enables staff to provide family members with correct information.
Operation
OR Team
Where are my devices?
Easily track your assets: RTLS identify and track the location of assets including ultrasound and laser systems, endoscopes, and video laryngoscopes. This saves time for clinical staff because they do not have to search for it – and money for the hospital because RTLS will trigger an alarm if an asset leaves a defined area. Furthermore, RTLS can facilitate the annual inventory check.
How can I quickly and easily call a stand-in?
Increase patient safety and staff satisfaction: During long operations, for example, a call button allows the OR staff to indicate that they need a stand-in. RTLS will notify the replacement to prepare immediately and come into the OR.
How can I easily track the procedure time?
Keep your KPIs under control: RTLS automatically track the times of an intervention, how long a patient had anesthesia, and more. This helps increase the accuracy of documentation and saves time and effort for clinical staff because it significantly reduces manual documentation.
Post-OR area & Sterilization
How can I update the status of the OR and
book the cleaning process efficiently?
Automate organizational processes:
As soon as the patient has left the OR, RTLS automatically initiate the cleaning process. When the cleaning is complete, RTLS indicate that the OR is available, and that the next operation can begin.
How can I efficiently manage the
sterilization process for the devices?
Track
the sterilization process:
RTLS provide a clear overview of the sterilization
status and expiration date of devices including robotic systems, endoscopes, or
the OR sieve. This helps clinical staff decide which ones to use next, keeping
unnecessary waste to a minimum and increasing cost efficiency. Also, clinical staff
can easily look up how many times a device has been sterilized and whether
maintenance or replacement is required.
Nurse
How can I automate the cleaning process of the OR stretchers?
Automate organizational processes: RTLS automatically initiate the cleaning of the OR stretcher as soon as the patient leaves the observation area. In addition, each stretcher has a color-coded tag which indicates whether it has been cleaned. This allows the clinical staff to conveniently check the cleaning status of a stretcher.
Porter
Where do I have to take the patient?
Streamline workflows: RTLS help optimize your porters’ task list and indicates when the patient can be taken back to the ward, the IMC, or the ICU.
Patients and Nurse
How to speed up the recovery process?
Use gamification for motivation: Depending on the intervention, patients receive a recovery plan tailored to their needs. RTLS support both patient and clinical staff in managing the recovery plan – from suggesting suiting ways to walk, for example, to monitoring compliance of the recovery progress.
The products/features and/or service offerings (here mentioned) are not commercially available in all countries. If the services are not marketed in countries due to regulatory or other reasons, the service offering cannot be guaranteed. Please contact your local Siemens Healthineers organization for further details.
The Real Time Consulting & Transformation offering can be used in combination with RTLS products from other providers, it is not mandatory to use the Siemens Healthineers standardized RTLS solution.