Where is my infusion pump? Harnessing network dynamics for improved hospital equipment fleet management.

Objective: Timely availability of intravenous infusion pumps is critical for high-quality care delivery. Pumps are shared among hospital units, often without central management of their distribution. This study seeks to characterize unit-to-unit pump sharing and its impact on shortages, and to evaluate a system-control tool that balances inventory across all care areas, enabling increased availability of pumps.

A comparison of commercial and custom-made electronic tracking systems to measure patient flow through an ambulatory clinic.

Background: Understanding how patients move through outpatient clinics is important for optimizing clinic processes. This study compares the costs, benefits, and challenges of two clinically important methods for measuring patient flow: (1) a commercial system using infrared (IR) technology that passively tracks patient movements and (2) a custom-built, low cost, networked radio frequency identification (RFID) system that requires active swiping by patients at proximity card readers.

Methods: Readers for both the IR and RFID systems were installed in the General Eye Service of the Wilmer Eye Institute.

Electronic Tracking of Patients in an Outpatient Ophthalmology Clinic to Improve Efficient Flow: A Feasibility Analysis and Benchmarking Study.

Introduction: Real-time location systems (RTLS) and Lean management approaches have been employed to improve patient flow in clinical settings. This study explored the feasibility of using these methodologies in an outpatient resident ophthalmology clinic.

Methods: Patients, providers, and staff in Wilmer Eye Institute General Eye Services Clinic were provided RTLS tags to track their movement throughout the clinic after observational studies modeling flow were conducted.