Atlanta, GA — August 19, 2005 The Nour Group and the Goizueta Business School at Emory University released the results of a survey of Atlanta-area hospital Material Managers focused on RFID technology and the managemet of Movable Medical Equipment (MME). The survey was sponsored by VIZZIA.

More than half of the survey respondents believe the utilization rate for movable medical equipment in their hospitals is in the 40- to 60-percent range.  The reason pointed out for such a low utilization rate is the inadequacy of the systems hospitals use to track MME. More than 80 percent of respondents stated that the tracking capabilities in their hospitals are inadequate.

“The level of asset utilization that Material Managers believe is achievable lies around 80 to 85 percent,” said David Mills, Partner, Research & Analysis Practice Director at The Nour Group. “This gap from the current level of 40 to 60 percent points to a significant opportunity to control costs and support compliance initiatives. Inefficient asset management is a pain point.”

In a separate survey released by Spyglass Consulting Research in April 2005, healthcare organizations reported that “15 to 20 percent of their mobile assets cannot be found at any point in time because of misplacement or theft.” The Nour Group survey confirmed similar findings.

“The survey results reinforce what we already knew,” commented Victor Mendes, CEO of VIZZIA. “There is a clear need for better asset management processes and systems in hospitals — and a significant opportunity for improvement through process re-engineering aided by RFID technology.”

“It is also encouraging to see that 67 percent of respondents acknowledge that RFID-based tracking systems can help hospitals achieve better compliance as dictated by JCAHO,” added Mendes.