DHB looks at radio monitor for new wing

Auckland's Waitemata District Health Board is investigating the use of radio frequency tracking technology to monitor the whereabouts of patients and staff at North Shore Hospital.

It has told technology companies it is considering tendering for a trial tracking system to be installed at its new Lakeview Extension wing, which will house North Shore Hospital's new emergency department and the associated acute diagnostic unit.

Under the tracking plan, patients would be issued with a radio frequency identification (RFID) wrist band when admitted so their location within the complex could be monitored by using a web-based floor plan of the wing.

The DHB said the greatest benefit of the system would come from being able to accurately determine which bed a patient was in at any given time.

It is looking to develop technology that registers when a medical staff member is at a particular patient's bedside. This could remotely trigger "certain actions" in the admission, discharge and transfer system.

The DHB also wants to be able to trigger alerts or messages when a patient leaves the premises without being discharged, or is recorded as being in one location for a certain period. RFID tags would also be used to track hospital equipment in the new wing.