Guest Column: Accuracy - Certain Is The New Estimated

By Ari Naim, CEO, CenTrak

Today, there are new technologies available that raise the standards of accuracy. Estimation-based solutions used to be the gold standard. They gave users a rough idea of where a piece of equipment or person was located. But, the new buzzword is "certainty based" – technology that has been developed to make true accuracy much more of a reality. True accuracy means that when the RTLS provides the location of a person or asset, the location information is absolutely certain and does not rely on estimates.

Why does this matter? Individuals or systems can begin formulating decisions based on the events that are defined by the location of assets and people and their location relative to each other. An event can be something as simple as equipment availability by knowing it is located in a closet, to the time a doctor spent with a patient in a specific room while a number of pieces of equipment were there. Meaningful events cannot be established if the location information is only an estimate, it must be certain. Empowered decision-making should be the primary focus of any tracking technology, not general tracking of assets, and that's only possible when administrators can be absolutely confident in the certainty delivered by their chosen system.

The leap from simple asset tracking to event driven decision processes provides recognition of the greatest ROI. Processes can be improved, automation can be achieved to improve efficiency and patient safety, and both equipment and human resources can be better utilized. This ever-important functionality relies on stable, consistent location information that does not suffer from errors.