Repp Health launches new patient tracking system

Repp Health has released Repp Eo -- a real-time tracking ultra-wideband technology developed specifically for the healthcare market.

Similar to GPS, Repp Eo provides X and Y coordinates and uses a map interface with a blue dot. According to Repp Health, real-time location intelligence on patients, assets and staff can help hospitals guide more patients through the care process more efficiently.

"The crux of the issue is that, in the face of decreasing reimbursement, healthcare needs to accelerate the pace of care and deliver care more efficiently," Repp Health Director of Business Development Heather Riley Swanson said. "In this age of Netflix, Uber and on demand, patients expect this of their healthcare providers as well."

Repp Health claims that Repp Eo combines a limited on-premises footprint with secure, cloud-based data processing to create a high level of accuracy.

Repp Eo is similar to the real-time location system available from CenTrak, which is composed of various tags and badges, technology platforms, hardware infrastructure and other components. With CenTrak, the product typically includes location sensors that are attached to various assets, whether it be patients, staff members or pieces of equipment.

CenTrak claims that having tracking systems inside healthcare facilities helps reduce patient risks related to equipment errors, hospital-acquired infections or physical attacks by:

• enabling staff to keep an eye on hygiene compliance;
• creating contact tracing reports to know which staff members and patients have come into contact with an infected person/asset;
• calling for help quickly in the event of an emergency;
• identifying when machines or systems are due for maintenance;
• letting staff know if a patient, particularly one with dementia or Alzheimer's, has wandered into an area they shouldn't; and
• protecting infants from abduction attempts.