Functional Upgrades for Your Existing Actall System
By Bob Hampe
Posted July 9, 2022
We’re proud to provide ATLAS tracking technology and indoor positioning systems for complex physical environments of all kinds, including in dozens of behavioral health centers across North America. Every facility is unique, and determining and executing appropriate solutions must take into account varieties of population, differences in duration of stay, individuals’ mental health support needs, treatment protocols and staffing shortages—just to name a few factors.
Actall’s real-time location systems (RTLS) solve problems of access control—meaning, among other things, that designated areas are properly restricted from access by unauthorized individuals such as patients and visitors—and ensures staff are equipped with reliable, highly accurate duress alarms in case they need quick backup support.
Now, ATLAS infrastructure can be activated to keep an eye on residents who need it for additional functionalities. Our technology offers a host of additional possibilities—from elevated monitoring of certain patient populations to reducing the risk of negative interactions in the facility.
RTLS for High-Risk Residents or High-Value Items
Some residents of behavioral health centers have an increased need for supervision due to multiple factors. For example, they may have a history of attempting to leave secure facilities. They may have problems with other residents. Or, they may have significant mental health challenges that require more frequent, hands-on care.
The same type of small system tags that staff use to enhance staff safety can also be used to track individual residents in two ways: active events and passive events. Active-events generally involve the tag carrier using the device (pushing a button) to summon assistance. Yet, that same technology can create passive events that become a prime opportunity to promote facility safety.
Passive events can be created using workflows that relate the tag carrier to a location, other tag carriers or any other data point that can be pulled from your environment. Say, for example, three residents wear tags because of their history of aggressive behavior. A passive event can be created to send a notification when those three tags converge in the same room automatically, which can then set off a chain of interventions, such as staff coming to check on them or separate them before an issue that requires a critical intervention arises. Or it could be a passive event as simple as a single tag showing up in a zone that has been deemed “off limits” for that person.
Important equipment, like high-value treatment tools and wheelchairs, can also be tagged—helping staff locate important items when they need them (and avoid ordering duplicates of the same pricey equipment, which is helpful for any facility’s bottom line).
These patient and item tags also can help with staff efficiency, especially due to chronic staffing shortages in mental and behavioral health care. Intelligence regarding key residents and on key high-value items, can safely enable staff to do more with less—which can enhance job satisfaction.
ATLAS Customers Can Activate Immediately
Customers already using ATLAS can simply add tags—low-security patient, high-security patient, equipment—at any time, and get them online with ease. The infrastructure is already in place for the additional tags to begin working.
As the need for specialized care continues to increase alongside persistent staffing issues, RTLS can be management’s most useful tool in helping ensure safety and adherence to treatment protocols.