StrongTech is a Google Enterprise Partner specializing in asset management for corporations, government agencies, associates, and the public sector. EZasset by StrongTech is an application-rich, web-hosted asset management solution that enables collaborative centralized and decentralized asset management. StrongTech's application includes features such as Calendar (coordinated with Google Calendar), which allows users to link assets to, and receive automatic reminders of, events; variable permission settings, which allow administrative users to control which assets and settings individual users can access; and a fully customizable display.
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is an integrated global health enterprise headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is one of the leading nonprofit health systems in the United States.
Challenge
Like all major medical centers, UPMC deals with thousands of important patient records and medical charts, which are in constant use by physicians, nurses, and other employees. Locating these charts efficiently is necessary: while UPMC's existing process was fairly accurate, the hospital saw room for improvement and was open to new methods that could facilitate the process.
Solution
Starting at one facility, StrongTech deployed an RFID network and placed RFID readers strategically throughout the center. Over the course of a week, RFID tags were placed in 9,000 medical charts, and the chart identification information was placed in the system. Now as each chart moves through the facility, the RFID network captures its history and location.
Results
Using a Web interface, UPMC employees can see a historic view of where each chart has been, and with Google maps, they can see the current physical location of each chart. The StrongTech system has cut chart location time by over 55%, and has been so well received that in the near future, StrongTech's application will be introduced at 35 additional UPMC locations. This will allow the medical center the staff at each facility to focus on what they do best: helping patients.
