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Healthcare facilities are bustling environments with countless moving parts – patients, staff, and critical equipment all in constant motion. In such a dynamic setting, knowing the real-time location of people and assets is crucial. That’s precisely what RTLS in healthcare offers: an indoor positioning for hospitals that can track medical equipment, patients, and staff. From ensuring a ventilator can be found when it’s urgently needed, to quickly locating a wandering patient, RTLS (Real-Time Location System) technology is revolutionizing hospital operations. This comprehensive guide explores how RTLS works, the key benefits it offers for any healthcare facility, and best practices for its implementation. By the end, you’ll understand why hospitals worldwide are investing in RTLS to enhance asset tracking, improve patient safety, streamline workflows, and ultimately deliver better care.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- RTLS (Real-Time Location System) uses IoT sensors, tags and special software to track the real-time location of medical equipment, patients, and staff within a hospital or clinic.
- Hospitals face costly inefficiencies without RTLS. Studies show that nurses spend up to 60 minutes per shift searching for equipment, resulting in an estimated $14 billion in annual productivity losses. RTLS dramatically cuts this search time.
- Improved asset tracking prevents loss and theft: Between 10% to 20% of hospital mobile assets are lost or stolen over their useful life. RTLS helps locate IV pumps, wheelchairs, and other equipment instantly, reducing unnecessary purchases and saving money.
- Enhanced patient safety and experience: RTLS enables patient tracking for safety purposes (e.g., fall prevention, infant security) and provides a digital wayfinding solution for visitors. This improves patient satisfaction by reducing wait times and preventing errors or misplacements.
- With real-time visibility, hospital staff spend less time searching and more time on patient care. RTLS can automate tasks such as locating colleagues in emergencies or alerting when clinicians spend too long in one area, thereby mitigating bottlenecks.
WHY HEALTHCARE FACILITIES ARE EMBRACING RTLS
Hospital executives are increasingly turning to RTLS to solve persistent operational challenges. One major driver is the cost of missing equipment and inefficiency. Research shows that 10–20% of a hospital’s mobile assets are lost or stolen during their lifespan, at an average cost of $3,000 per item. Such losses force hospitals to overbuy equipment – in fact, hospitals often purchase 10–20% more devices than required, simply to compensate for frequent misplacement. This hidden drain on budgets is compounded by the time staff waste searching for items.
According to a 2024 study, nurses spend up to 1 hour per shift searching for equipment, contributing to about $14 billion in annual lost productivity across the U.S. These inefficiencies not only increase costs but also delay patient care and frustrate staff. It’s no surprise that healthcare facilities are embracing RTLS as a remedy. By providing real-time visibility of assets and people, RTLS eliminates needless searching and prevents equipment loss. The payoff is significant: improved care delivery, higher staff productivity, and lower costs. No wonder roughly 25% of U.S. hospitals have adopted RTLS, with that number rapidly growing.
Clearly, the ability to know who or what is where, in real time, is transforming hospital operations. In the following sections, we’ll define RTLS and explore how this technology works to deliver such benefits.
UNDERSTANDING RTLS
What is RTLS? A Real-Time Location System (RTLS) in healthcare is a wireless tracking solution that pinpoints the location of people and assets inside a hospital or clinic in real-time. In essence, it’s an indoor location network – often referred to as an indoor GPS for hospitals – that continuously monitors the movement and position of tagged objects or individuals.
HOW RTLS WORKS IN A HEALTHCARE FACILITY
Unlike GPS, which relies on satellites and is unreliable indoors, RTLS uses in-building sensors and tags to generate location data within a facility’s walls. By attaching small electronic tags or badges to medical equipment, patients, or staff IDs, and installing readers or sensors around the building, the hospital can automatically collect location information and visualize it on software dashboards or maps.
In a healthcare context, RTLS enables a wide range of visibility. Hospital staff can instantly see where a tagged wheelchair or infusion pump is currently located, down to a specific room or zone. They can also track patients (e.g., a dementia patient prone to wandering) or find a colleague during an emergency. The RTLS software aggregates all these live locations onto a digital floor plan or database, often integrating with other hospital systems. For example, an RTLS can send an alert to a nurse’s phone if a patient leaves a safe zone, or automatically log equipment utilization data for maintenance systems. By providing this continuous situational awareness, RTLS in healthcare helps facilities respond faster, manage resources better, and make data-driven decisions to improve care.
RTLS TECHNOLOGIES IN HEALTHCARE
Not all RTLS are built the same – a variety of wireless technologies can be used to locate assets and people indoors, each with its own strengths. The choice of technology impacts the accuracy, cost, and complexity of the RTLS. Here are the most common RTLS technologies in healthcare and how they work:
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi-based RTLS leverages the hospital’s existing Wi-Fi network to track tags. Each tag contains a Wi-Fi transmitter that sends signals to the facility’s Wi-Fi access points. By measuring signal characteristics, such as signal strength or using time-of-flight with Wi-Fi RTT, the system can approximate the tag’s location. The advantage of Wi-Fi RTLS is that it can leverage the existing infrastructure in many hospitals – the Wi-Fi network – thereby reducing the need for dedicated readers. Accuracy can be within a range of 5–10 meters, unless a very dense network of access points is in place.
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE)
Bluetooth® Low Energy has emerged as one of the most popular RTLS technologies in healthcare due to its balance of accuracy, cost, and power efficiency. BLE-based RTLS uses small battery-powered tags (sometimes as tiny as a coin) that broadcast Bluetooth signals. Fixed Bluetooth receivers (beacons or gateways) placed around the facility pick up those signals. BLE tags can last for months or years on a coin-cell battery due to BLE’s low energy usage. This keeps maintenance costs down. Accuracy can range from a few meters to sub-meter, especially if using advanced methods like Bluetooth Angle of Arrival.
Ultra-Wideband (UWB)
Ultra-Wideband is a radio technology known for its exceptional precision. UWB RTLS tags emit short, ultra-wideband frequency pulses that can be measured with very high precision by UWB receivers. With time-of-flight measurement, UWB can achieve location accuracy to within 30 centimeters (about 1 foot) or even better. This level of precision is valuable for certain healthcare applications – for example, tracking the exact position of surgical tools or a patient’s movement within a room. UWB signals are also good at penetrating obstacles and are less prone to interference. The trade-off is that UWB tags and infrastructure are typically more expensive than BLE or Wi-Fi, and tags have higher power consumption (though advances are improving battery life).
BENEFITS OF RTLS IN HEALTHCARE
Improved Asset Tracking and Utilization
One of the most immediate benefits of RTLS is real-time asset tracking – knowing exactly where your medical equipment is at all times. This capability attacks a major source of waste in hospitals: lost or underutilized assets. Without RTLS, equipment tends to “disappear” in a maze of departments and storage closets. As noted, an estimated 10–20% of hospital assets go missing during their lifecycle, often due to being misplaced or even stolen. Such losses not only incur replacement costs, but they also force hospitals to overstock equipment “just in case.” By deploying RTLS asset tracking, hospitals can curb these losses. Preventing even a handful of lost devices can save tens of thousands of dollars.
With enterprise-wide visibility, hospitals can redistribute assets more efficiently. For example, if the RTLS shows that all four mobile X-ray units are on one floor, managers can proactively allocate them to where they’re needed, or identify underused devices that could be moved or removed from inventory. This optimized utilization means fewer unnecessary rentals and purchases – and it ensures critical tools are available for patient care when needed.
Enhanced Patient Safety and Monitoring
In healthcare, knowing a patient’s whereabouts at all times is a fundamental safety concern, and RTLS greatly aids in this. With RTLS patient tracking, hospitals can monitor patients who are at risk. For instance, an elderly patient with dementia wearing an RTLS wristband can trigger an alert if they wander beyond a safe area. This is essentially an “invisible safety net” preventing patient elopement and accidents. In maternity wards, infant security tags are an RTLS application designed to prevent abductions or mix-ups. If a baby is removed from the ward without authorization, the system alerts security immediately. These examples show how RTLS directly protects patients from harm by preventing critical incidents.
Streamlined Staff Workflow
Hospital staff – nurses, doctors, technicians – are the backbone of care delivery, and RTLS has significant benefits for them as well. One major impact is workflow efficiency. By eliminating the time staff spend hunting for equipment or searching for colleagues, RTLS frees up more time for patient care. Consider that nurses currently waste up to an hour per shift looking for missing equipment. After RTLS implementation, that time drops dramatically. A nurse can pull up a tablet and find the nearest infusion pump in seconds, rather than a 20-minute scavenger hunt across floors. Over a year, this efficiency gain can equate to thousands of hours redirected to direct patient care or other productive tasks, helping to alleviate staff workload and burnout. RTLS also aids in workflow by providing visibility into patient flow and bottlenecks.
Better Patient Experience
Beyond the behind-the-scenes operational gains, RTLS has a direct positive impact on patients’ experience of care. Hospitals can be confusing and intimidating places; RTLS-enabled indoor navigation or wayfinding helps visitors and patients find their destinations with ease. Using a smartphone app linked to the RTLS, a patient can get turn-by-turn directions from the parking garage to the radiology department, for instance. This reduces late or missed appointments, which are often due to patients getting lost or stuck in a labyrinthine facility.
IMPLEMENTING RTLS IN YOUR HEALTHCARE FACILITY
Deploying an RTLS in a hospital is a significant project that involves technology, process changes, and people. Here are key considerations and steps to ensure a smooth implementation:
Assessing Needs and Objectives
Start with a clear definition of what you need the RTLS to do. Hospitals have varied goals – are you primarily looking for asset tracking to manage equipment? Do you need patient flow analysis to reduce wait times? Or staff duress alarms for safety? Defining the scope will guide all other decisions. Also, decide the level of accuracy required. If you only need room-level or zone-level locating (e.g., knowing which ward an infusion pump is in), a simpler system may suffice. However, if you require pinpoint accuracy (e.g., locating a device within a few feet in an operating room), you’ll need a more advanced solution. Clarifying requirements upfront helps in selecting the right technology and estimating costs. It’s also wise to audit your current state: How many assets would be tagged? How many patients/staff at peak would be tracked? What existing network infrastructure do you have? This assessment phase ensures you choose an RTLS solution that matches your hospital’s size and complexity.
Securing Stakeholder Buy-In
Implementing RTLS is not just an IT project – it impacts clinical workflows, facilities management, and more. Therefore, getting buy-in from all stakeholders early on is crucial. Engage department heads and frontline staff by explaining the benefits (use data from other hospitals or pilot studies if possible). Similarly, explain to executives how RTLS can improve patient satisfaction scores or prevent costly asset losses. They will provide valuable input on needs and potential challenges.
Budget and ROI Considerations
Budgeting for RTLS includes both upfront capital costs and ongoing operational costs. Key expenses to account for are:
- Hardware – tags and readers/beacons; you might need hundreds or thousands of tags (though they are often a few dollars each for basic ones) and dozens of fixed sensors.
- Installation – cabling, mounts, and labor to install sensors throughout the facility.
- Software – the RTLS asset tracking platform license or subscription, and possibly servers or cloud fees.
- Integration – costs to integrate RTLS data with existing systems like your nurse call, EHR, or CMMS (maintenance system), if desired.
- Maintenance – replacing batteries in tags periodically, and system support contracts.
On the flip side of cost is return on investment (ROI). A well-implemented RTLS often pays for itself within a couple of years through various savings.
Choosing the Right RTLS Solution
There are many vendors offering hospital RTLS, each with different technologies and features. Key factors to consider include:
- Accuracy vs. cost – UWB systems offer great accuracy but are pricier; BLE is cost-effective but ensures the accuracy meets your needs.
- Scalability – Can the system start small and expand hospital-wide? A modular system that lets you add more coverage areas over time is helpful if you plan to scale up.
- Integration capabilities – Look for systems with open APIs or pre-built integration modules for healthcare applications (EHR, nurse call, asset management software). This will allow your RTLS to “talk” to other systems (for example, automatically create a maintenance ticket when a device hasn’t moved for X days, indicating possible malfunction).
- Ease of use – The user interface for staff should be intuitive. Nurses and techs won’t use the system if it’s cumbersome. A good RTLS has a simple search function (“Find nearest wheelchair”) and mobile accessibility.
- Vendor support and experience – Check the vendor’s track record in healthcare. Do they understand hospital workflows? Can they demonstrate successful deployments in similar-sized facilities? Strong training and technical support are essential, especially in the go-live phase.
In summary, successful RTLS implementation in a healthcare facility is a journey: start with clear goals, get everyone on board, choose the right technology, and roll it out thoughtfully with training and iteration. Many hospitals that follow these steps find that RTLS quickly becomes an indispensable part of daily operations, much like EHRs – and those initial efforts pay off in smoother workflows and improved care.
NAVIGINE RTLS SOLUTION FOR HEALTHCARE
Navigine offers three plug-and-play BLE kits that let healthcare teams roll out real-time location services in days instead of months:
- Patient Safety Monitoring Kit – wrist-tag beacons and gateways give staff a live view of every patient, trigger geofence alerts when someone leaves a safe area, and capture movement history for flow analysis.
- Wheelchair Tracking Kit – asset tags on wheelchairs plus room-level gateways, and special software let nurses find the nearest chair instantly, track utilisation and curb the losses that cost hospitals time and money each year.
- RTLS Development Kit – a compact set of tags, gateways and a three-month Navigine licence that lets engineers stand up a proof-of-concept for asset or staff tracking, validate accuracy and integrate via open APIs before scaling.
Every bundle ships with pre-configured hardware, a three-month subscription to the Navigine platform and step-by-step onboarding, so pilots go live fast and convert directly to full deployments by simply adding more tags or gateways.
CONCLUSION
Real-Time Location Systems are rapidly transitioning from “nice-to-have” innovations to standard infrastructure in modern hospitals. As we have seen, the impact of RTLS in healthcare spans a broad spectrum – tangible benefits like recovered equipment and time savings, as well as intangible ones like peace of mind and improved patient trust. By illuminating the real-time movement of assets and people, RTLS essentially provides hospital administrators and clinicians with a new level of situational awareness. The result is a healthcare facility that operates with the efficiency of a well-orchestrated system rather than a chaotic maze.
For hospital decision-makers, the takeaway is clear: embracing RTLS is a strategic step toward building a smarter, safer, and more efficient healthcare facility. Now is the time to act. Engaging with experienced solution providers like Navigine can simplify the journey, offering pre-configured kits and expert guidance to get started quickly.
Ready to explore RTLS for your hospital? To learn more about our systems capabilities, contact a manager via the contact form or book an online consultation.
