Following Tuesday's news that Terre Haute, Ind.-based Union Hospital is deploying an enterprise asset tracking system from Versus Technology, the Traverse City, Mich.-based provider of Active RFID and IR patient locating solutions on Wednesday added Rouge Valley Health System to its list of healthcare provider clients. Read »

If a group of healthcare IT professionals said we should stop questioning whether wireless sensors and tracking systems actually work, would it be enough to get the industry concentrating on deploying the most effective systems for yielding results? Read »

PositiveID Corp., a provider of health and security identification tools aimed at protecting consumers and businesses, is planning to expand its HealthID division by adding products for the daily management of diabetes. Read »

The role of real-time location systems in healthcare has garnered considerable attention over the past year, as hospitals advance efforts to implement technologies aimed at reducing costs and increasing operational efficiencies. Now, a study of the use of RTLS at Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton, N.C., finds the technology can save hospitals hundreds of thousands of dollars a year and improve clinical outcomes. It can even boost staff morale. Read »

The healthcare industry loves Wi-Fi-based real-time locating systems, but the size of Wi-Fi tags and their integrated batteries have pretty much restricted their use to tracking larger items. On the other hand, smaller, passive tags can be used on everything from IV bags to small instruments to patient wristbands, but they have a much shorter read range and can't piggyback on wireless LANs. Since the value of tracking assets and patients has been well documented in healthcare settings--and cost-cutting efforts are shaping decision making--we're seeing more vendor partnerships aimed at integrating solutions, as well as an increase in the number of different handheld and mobile RFID readers. Read »

After wrestling back control of his company with the purchase of 5.4 million shares of common stock, Scott R. Silverman is back in the driver's seat as CEO of the VeriChip Corporation, a provider of RFID systems for healthcare. Now, with FDA clearance in place for the company's implantable EHR chip, officials have begun a process to ensure that VeriChip's EHR is compliant with CCHIT certifications. The move should enable physicians and hospitals using the VeriChip EHR to qualify for stimulus funding, leaving only the question of whether health care consumers will accept or reject the notion of implantable patient records. Read »

Common sense has scored a victory in the Keystone State, where the Pennsylvania House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that would ban the forced implantation of identification devices in people. The bill, which was introduced by Democratic State Rep. Babette Josephs, has drawn support from the VeriChip Corporation, a Delray Beach, Fla.-based provider of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems for healthcare. Read »

Now that real time locating systems have become affordable, the number of RTLS suppliers is expected to jump from 50 in 2008 to 200 in 2013, according to global research firm IDTechEx. With market growth projected to rise from $145 million in 2008 to $2.7 billion in 2018, most suppliers in the RTLS value chain remain in the U.S., where the largest market is situated. Read »

Healthcare executives confronted with tightened capital budgets, clinician concerns over patient care and personal income, and the overall strategic direction of their institutions might want to check out the latest top 10 list of health technologies for hospital c-suite executives. Read »