What do you call the tracking device nurses sometimes wear?

Editorial Team / Admin · Sep 21, 2016

Vocera maybe? It's a brand name I've heard mentioned.

AceOfHearts<3 · Sep 21, 2016

An invasion of privacy.

On a serious note, I know what you are talking about (saw them in clinical at a specific facility and the nurses HATED them), but have no clue what they are called. Good luck!

EllaBella1, BSN · Sep 21, 2016

Wow, I could never work somewhere that made us wear something like that.

mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN · Sep 21, 2016

We wear a "locator" it is from Hill-Rom. They don't work very well. Our unit is one of the last ones to be upgraded. We have lights outside the room that show when the nurse/aide is in the room and is supposed to show where we are so that the HUC doesn't have to overhead page for us. It is really slow. Most of the other units, the nurses carry phones that are hooked up to the alarm system of cardiac monitors. I have floated to those floors and it is nice when you page the docs, you don't have to sit by a phone. I think they all still wear locators too, though. I don't mind them.

Been there,done that, ASN, RN · Sep 21, 2016

It is a radio frequency ID chip. I always called it a "slacker tracker". I work from home now.Every minute of my activity is followed and documented by IT. Welcome to George Orwell's 1984.

klone, MSN, RN · Sep 21, 2016

Thanks. I'm looking at them to attach to our portable ultrasound machines, which often get "borrowed," not for our nurses.

It's not a Vocera.

So, for those of you who use them, I'm just looking for brands for my research, not editorial opinions on the devices themselves. Hill-Rom is helpful. I just don't know what they're called.

MunoRN, RN · Sep 21, 2016

They are generally referred to as "RTLS" or Real Time Location Systems.

kay91 · Sep 21, 2016

Is it bad that I have worn one for almost 3 years and don't know the name of it?! I am trying to figure it out. For ius, it has one color on when a nurse is in the room and another for the hcts. It flashes the colors outside the door when someone hits the call light and is solid when someone is in the room.

martymoose, BSN, RN · Sep 21, 2016

Big Brother

oceanblue52 · Sep 21, 2016

We used them at one of my old jobs, have no clue what the brand was...I will attest tho that they are not very accurate and take up to 10 minutes to relocate themselves. It was always fun when I'd stop at the nurses station for a check in and see myself still in a patient's room... :smokin:

Anonymous865 · Sep 21, 2016

You want to look for ASSET TRACKING IN HEALTHCARE/HOSPITALS

Here's some that a quick google search found:

Things to consider

Using WiFi to Track Clinical Assets | Healthcare Informatics Magazine | Health IT | Information Technology

RFID vs. WiFi for Hospital Inventory Tracking Systems

Vendors

Hospital Asset Tracking | Real-time Locating | Versus RTLS

Healthcare Asset Tracking & Management | STANLEY Healthcare

http://www.centrak.com/asset-tracking-management/

http://www.securedgenetworks.com/blog/3-key-uses-of-Wi-Fi-RTLS-in-Hospital-Wireless-Networks

https://www.airistaflow.com/industries/healthcare/

http://www.americanbiomedicalgroup.net/case-studies/medical-equipment-tracking

I don't know anything about the above companies.

When I googled this I did discover that Cisco has "The Cisco Location-Aware Healthcare Solution." I couldn't copy the link, so just google that. Cisco is one of the best companies for computer networking, so I would expect their product to be top notch.

I also found that Philips has an asset tracking product for healthcare. That is also a highly regarded company.

http://www.rfidjournal.com/articles/view?2869

If you have an IT person or a biomed person, enlist their help with this.

Good luck with your project. It sounds like it will be very interesting.