How Providence Mission Hospital Saves Millions by Tracking Movable Medical Equipment through Vizzia RTLS Solutions
Outsourced Equipment Distribution Coupled with Real-Time Location Services (RTLS) Creates Efficiencies, Savings
RTLS Case Study: Mission Hospital, Mission Viejo, California
Background to the Problem
Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo, California experienced significant erosion of its investments in movable medical equipment (MME) before its partnership with Vizzia in 2010. There were several systemic issues to blame.
A substantial portion of its MME supply went missing on an annual basis which created a variety of challenges, including:
- To accommodate seasonal peaks, Mission’s materials manager needed to budget for rental expenses of $20,000 to $25,000 per month
- Too much of nurses’ shifts were spent looking for equipment needed to care for their patients, undermining patient health outcomes
- With average MME cost per piece in the range of $3,500 to $6,500, the lost, misplaced, and stolen MME dragged down hospital margins to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars per year – straining the hospital budget and pressuring the C-suite decision-making
About Providence Mission Hospital and Children’s Healthcare of Orange County
A state-of-the-art, 504-bed acute care facility, Mission has been recognized as a “Best Hospital in the Los Angeles Metro area” by U.S. News & World Report and is the only Level II trauma hospital in the area. The hospital provides specialized pediatric care through Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC), a 48-bed facility that operates on the hospital’s fifth floor.
Dual Approach: Real-time Location System (RTLS) and Outsourced Equipment Distribution
Mission’s facilities team conducted due diligence into MME management solutions and selected Vizzia for the company’s approach to MME asset management in 2010. Its unique combination of technology and fully-managed service combines real-time location system (RTLS) asset management with human capital: an on-site 24/7 equipment distribution team.
The RTLS technology deployed allows equipment location accuracy down to the room — in real-time –and then pairs that data with analytics and recommendations. Mission staff use this information to optimize equipment utilization. Vizzia’s on-site and well-trained team monitors equipment, generates reports for hospital staff, supports MME management functions, and increases the efficiency of Mission’s biomed personnel by cleaning and re-distributing equipment after use and maintenance.
Certainty-Based RTLS Pinpoints Exact Location of All Tagged Equipment
Asset management using RTLS relies on sensors placed throughout the hospital which detect the tags affixed to each piece of equipment. Vizzia offers the combination of fully-managed installation and a patented [can we say “proprietary”?] combination of second-generation infrared and active RFID technology sensors that enables certainty-based RTLS via Vizzia’s InVIEW℠ platform.
Francesco Petruzzella, Director of Biomedical Engineering at Providence Mission Hospital says, “InVIEW is a very powerful data analytics tool with a clean and intuitive user interface.”
The platform collects real-time data from various sources, such as patient tracking systems, medical equipment, and environmental sensors. This data is then aggregated and processed to provide meaningful insights. This enables a number of benefits:
- Complete visibility into asset pool virtually eliminates costs and challenges associated with lost, misplaced and stolen equipment.
- Staff and clinicians can determine in seconds and have complete confidence in the exact location of any tagged equipment.
- Alerts ensure required procedures are followed and that equipment inventory is maintained to optimum levels in each department throughout the hospital.
- The ability to accurately pinpoint equipment location supports improvements for more efficient process flow and automates decision-making [around equipment utilization?].
- Rental module eliminates need to pay rental and replacement fees on lost or stolen, untagged equipment
Outsourced Equipment Distribution Enables Maximum ROI
Vizzia’s Technical Support Team Lead at Mission is Max Kavousi. He works on-site at the hospital and manages the Equipment Distribution Services department, which provides 24×7 operations and supports the management of thousands of pieces of MME. This support allows Mission to fully benefit from their investment in RTLS technology and assists Mission’s biomed team with preventative maintenance for more than 1,000 pieces of equipment.
Environmental Temperature Monitoring and Regulatory Compliance
In addition to tracking equipment, Vizzia sensors monitor temperature throughout the hospital, including for CHOC on the fifth floor. In 2014, CHOC developed and implemented their innovative Centralized Milk Handling Program, which Vizzia supports by monitoring the temperature in breast milk refrigerators.
When these go out of range, staff receive real-time alerts and can immediately place work orders to resolve the situation. For medication refrigerators, Vizzia places and manages work orders, adding time back to CHOC staff’s day.
Eva Esmaeili, CHOC’s NICU Manager, notes another benefit of Vizzia’s InVIEW platform: “From a regulatory standpoint, having the ability to go to the live system and review trends is very helpful in assuring we are meeting the regulatory need.” She also appreciates that the system allows for flexibility on who manages alerts.
Preventing Hospital-Acquired Infections
Bacteria and disease travel not only on the hands and person of a caregiver but also on equipment. Vizzia’s software alerts Mission’s biomed team when assets are due for maintenance and ensures equipment is cleaned after every use to reduce the chances of hospital-acquired infections.
During the COVID pandemic, Vizzia’s Equipment Distribution Services team managed and tracked in real-time a surge of critical MME, including respirators, ventilators and beds. The team also installed and maintained environmental monitors to ensure proper cold-chain storage parameters for COVID vaccines in refrigerators.
The Benefits of a 12-year RTLS Partnership
Since 2010, Mission and Vizzia have continued to work closely to ensure MME inventory is where it needs to be and that it’s in the condition necessary to support excellent patient care.
The incidence of lost or stolen equipment decreased from 14% to 0% in the first year of implementation, and monthly expenses for MME rentals decreased from $20,000+ to $1,000. These savings continue to accrue to this day.
Esmaeili describes Vizzia’s asset management technology and services as “a win for our nursing staff by reducing the number of items that had to be manually tracked daily and/or per shift.” Nurse satisfaction at Mission increased by 50% in year one of the engagement.
At the end of that year, the benefits of the Mission-Vizzia partnership added up to more than $600,000 in cost savings. In the decade-plus since, those savings have compounded to allow Mission to save millions of dollars.
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Vizzia is a leading provider of fully managed Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS), helping hospitals reduce costs, streamline processes and improve patient care.
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Phone: 1-855-849-9421
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