RTLS Educational Opportunities Abound at HIMSS12, Versus Automates Epic EMR

 

(Traverse City, Michigan, February 14, 2012) – Each year the annual Health Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference presents an opportunity for vendors to educate consumers and partners as to their products and how they contribute to patient care. This year’s HIMSS conference (HIMSS12), taking place in Las Vegas February 21^st through 23^rd, will be no different and Versus Technology, Inc. (Versus), healthcare’s foremost provider of automated patient flow and clinical workflow solutions, will be taking full advantage of the opportunity to connect with and educate clients and partners alike.

 

According to CMIO Magazine, healthcare IT spending is expected to decline over all segments—except Real-time Locating Systems (RTLS). In fact, spending on RTLS is the only segment expected to grow over the next two years—and by a significant amount: 34%. This is because automated workflow solutions like Versus provides, in addition to patient tracking and asset tracking applications, have substantiated increases in patient safety and satisfaction while reducing operational expenses related to staff overtime, scheduling inefficiencies, capacity management and excess equipment.

 

A key educational opportunity for those interested in RTLS is HIMSS Education Session #182: “Ambulatory Clinic Patient Tracking with RTLS for Process Improvement.” Speakers are Brenda Joslyn, RN, BSN, MSB, Manager of Nursing Services at Eastern Maine Medical Center’s CancerCare of Maine, and Susan Pouzar, CPHIMS, Versus’ Vice President of Sales. This topic moves beyond the more basic and common asset tracking use case to describe CancerCare of Maine’s advanced RTLS application: automated patient flow, data capture and performance metric analysis in an ambulatory care environment.

 

Similar opportunities to discuss advanced RTLS applications with Versus customers and patient flow experts are available at Versus’ booth (#5852) each day during the HIMSS12 conference. Attendees can sign up for sessions ranging from innovations in workflow analytics and automation to how RTLS supports patient satisfaction (HCAHPS) and patient safety. Moderators of these roundtable sessions include Brenda Joslyn from Eastern Maine Medical Center, Ginger Banks, RN, BSN, MBA—an expert on the Versus Advantages™ implementation at PeaceHealth, which has deployed more RTLS applications for process improvement than any other healthcare system, and Mary Longe, Director at AHA Solutions,  and patient flow solutions expert.

 

Other happenings at Versus’ booth include the debut of Reports Plus^™ Analytics featuring the most advanced RTLS analytic reporting capabilities available. Reports Plus^™ Analytics contains over 40 patient, staff, equipment, and quality measurement reports—each with flexible report criteria—and the ability to create your own reports and dashboards using the Reports Builder^™ module. Attendees will learn  which reports are best for analyzing Lean Sigma and Clinical Quality Metrics, how to drill-down to individual patient care metrics and which dashboards, scatter charts, bar graphs or lists are most beneficial for viewing patient care milestones. Versus will demonstrate how it has made clinically-relevant RTLS data more accessible and valuable to caregivers, administrators and end-users.

 

Versus will also be introducing another option for collecting and distributing this highly accurate real-time data. The Smart-IR™ Wi-Fi Sensor is a new wireless Wi-Fi-enabled RTLS node that collects and prioritizes location data. By offering a choice of reliable wired and flexible wireless platforms, the Smart-IR Wi-Fi Sensor allows Versus to continue guaranteeing customers the same “No False Positives” clinical-grade accuracy through its infrared location signal, while allowing customers to utilize their existing Wi-Fi networks to communicate location data back to the system server.

 

Smart-IR eliminates the need for wiring in areas where it is impossible or cost prohibitive. Unlike other Wi-Fi systems, when using the Smart-IR Wi-Fi Sensor, badges and tags require neither discreet IP addressing nor proprietary WCS licensing. There is also no additional cost related to Wi-Fi network expansion and administration. The result is a low total cost of ownership. Finally, the Smart-IR Wi-Fi Sensor is fully backward compatible to Versus’ existing 650+ RTLS installations, allowing current customers to expand to new areas quickly and cost effectively.

 

Versus’ capability to seamlessly integrate with other healthcare systems allows a hospital to truly leverage location-based information to automate tasks throughout the facility. Most recently, at Memorial Hospital Miramar, Versus integrated to Epic’s EMR to provide accurate patient location updates and to Epic’s Prelude/ADT product via HL7 v3 web-based services. Memorial Hospital Miramar prefers that clinical systems integrate to Versus because Versus keeps all systems in sync and up-to-date automatically with patient tracking data. Though several other Versus customers are currently in the planning process, the integration at Miramar is the premier RTLS integration to an Epic product and the first to apply the HL7 v3 standards.

 

About Versus Technology, Inc.

Established in 1988, Versus Technology, Inc. specializes in real-time location systems (RTLS) for health care. Used for enterprise patient tracking, bed management, asset tracking, and nurse call automation, Versus Advantages™ improves patient flow and documentation of caregiver and patient interactions, while enhancing communication and efficiency.

Exclusively endorsed by the American Hospital Association, the Versus Advantages infrared (IR) and Active RFID solution is responsible for clinical-grade location and automation at a number of hospitals, clinics and long-term care facilities worldwide. To learn more about Versus Technology, Inc. (Pink Sheets: VSTI.PK), our technology and client successes, visit www.versustech.com and take the Advantages Tour.

Safe Harbor Provision

This release may include forward-looking statements which “bespeak caution,” and which are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements.  The statements are made only as of the date of this release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update them to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

 

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