Case Study: UCSF Medical Center - Tracking Assets To Improve OR Efficiency

In mid 2007, Mr. James Bennan, Administrative Director for Perioperative Services, and Dr. John Kulli, Medical Director, felt the Operating Room could especially benefit from a real-time location system (RTLS). One of the primary drivers was the hospital's need to meet regulatory requirements necessitating halls be kept clear of equipment. Although UCSF has an equipment storage facility, it is located off-site, about 2 miles away from the main hospital. Because of this, staff was reluctant to send equipment to the storage unit without an equipment tracking system in place. RTLS was an obvious choice to eliminate the "giant black hole" effect that occurred when equipment was moved to the storage units. Additional drivers for RTLS included operational efficiency (eliminating low value time spent looking for equipment) and financial savings. A task team was formed to collect information about available technology, services and cost.

UCSF Medical Center's task team reviewed RTLS options from six in-depth proposals presented by vendors representing numerous RFID technologies. After a rigorous process, the Awarepoint Real-time Awareness Solution® was chosen.