In today’s ever-evolving healthcare industry, tracking and monitoring equipment digitally has become essential to maximising efficiency and improving services provided to patients. The introduction of the Internet of Things (IoT) has helped facilitate the offer of a turnkey solution to equipment tracking, offering broad applications for a wide variety of sectors. As an innovation partner for many NHS trusts and other healthcare organisations, we’re sharing our advice on what to look for in order to choose the right technology provider and solution for your needs:
Connectivity:
A fundamental element to any effective healthcare asset tracking solution is its connectivity. It’s vital to ensure your chosen solution supports a wide range of connectivity protocols and doesn’t limit your options, now or in the future. Look for industry-standard protocols: minimum expectations should include support for GPS, WiFi, RFID, BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy), and ultra-low-power mesh networks. Having a comprehensive set of connectivity options allows for versatile indoor and outdoor asset tracking, IoT sensor deployment, personnel tracking, and more.
Scalability:
When choosing an IoT asset tracking solution, scalability should always be considered. While your initial deployment may start small, it’s likely to grow as more departments look to benefit from easy access to essential data about their equipment and further applications for the technology are identified.
Look for easily extendable and securely cloud-based solutions, as these offer the advantage of being able to rapidly add computing power when necessary. They’ll also often include automatic support and software updates, alleviating the burden on your IT department, which would otherwise be tasked with manual updates if the solution were on-premises.
Interoperability:
With so many different communication protocols now available, it’s important to find a solution that can support these protocols seamlessly alongside a software platform that’s straightforward and intuitive for those using it. We believe you really shouldn’t have to worry about the technicalities of low-level protocols: your new system should work straight out of the box without complications or delays.
Future-Proofing:
One common pitfall in choosing an IoT tracking solution is opting for rigid, siloed solutions that cater to one specific tracking capability. While these solutions may meet your immediate needs, they often fail to adapt as your requirements evolve. This leads to a situation where you end up managing multiple solutions from different suppliers to track assets across your organisation.
A more forward-thinking approach involves selecting a solution that is both flexible and future-proof. Look for a supplier who is committed to innovation and regularly updates their offerings. This ensures that your tracking solution can grow and adapt alongside your organisation, eliminating the need for constant migration and integration of new technologies.
There’s lots to think about when choosing an IoT equipment tracking supplier, but by carefully evaluating these aspects when making your choice, you can ensure that your organisation benefits from a comprehensive, adaptable, and efficient solution. Making the right decision enables your setting to gain the maximum value from its investment, creating tangible, long-term improvements to your operations and patient care.
For more information about the EVERYWARE asset monitoring and tracking solution, please email info@everyware.co.uk
