Procurement and Management Strategies for Patient GPS Tracking System Incorporation into Hospitals

New models of such tracking health bands are produced frequently with different functionalities, but the primary function is inpatient tracking. Research and studies have shown that they increase efficiency in patient management. For this reason, there is a need to introduce the GPS tracking health bands in Australian hospitals. Before the introduction to Australian hospitals, we need to understand what this system is all about. Its uses, features, advantages, technological advancements, and its implications are going to be analysed here. Results of this examination help in employing a consistent approach to the selection of items to include independently of factors that are otherwise known to influence results interpretation like sample sizes and source of funding, among others. The population (P) here is the patients in Australian hospitals.

, intervention (I) is the introduction of a patient GPS tracking system, control or comparator (C) is the existing system with no GPS tracking system, and finally outcome (O) is the effect of the predicted intervention mechanism to be introduced. A researchable question should be specific and precise to guide a proper implementation of a project considering all variables, and this is what PICO helps in formulating to ensure appropriate research. In addition to this criterion, we also employ the use of PRISMA method in our methodology. The step that follows is the evaluation of the risk of bias in the studies done previously to approach the factors objectively. The preference referred to here may include the location bias, citation bias, multiple publication bias, language bias, and the outcome reporting bias.

Risks for each type of bias is analysed, and an appropriate decision arrived at to make the research as objective as possible. Finally, the results are presented and analyzed on their qualityto build a strong argument in the implementation of the project in question. The basis of PRISMA is to provide a transparent and complete analysis and reporting of systematic reviews. Some devices are designed as necklaces with pendants which has sensors within them, an electrocardiogram sensor, a localization module, and tri-axial accelerometer. They are designed to determine the position of the wearer and send the signals tracking routers installed within hospital rooms or in houses and transmit the data to monitoring points. Apart from such sensors, other patient tracking devices can use wi-fi networks in the vicinity to communicate the accurate location of patients.

Some tools are configured to transmit with smartphones like Android devices through apps which then relay the patient's position to hospitals(Wang, Coleman, Kanter, Ummer, & Siminerio, 2018). Their basic functionality is the identification of the patients' physical locations and their statuses. Several factors influenced the development of these tracking systems. The first one is the overstretching of medical personnel and facilities due to the increased number of patients in hospitals. This increase in patient numbers in a country like the USA is in turn driven by compliance requirements of regulations like the Affordable Care Act(Bustamante, McKenna, Viana, Ortega, & Chen, 2018). Quality health care cannot be compromised, and patients need to be tracked wherever they are for better healthcare provision. Another factor that influenced the development of patient GPS tracking devices is the nature of some patients, those who are prone to wander and those unable to signal their caregivers for help.

The barcodes were scanned and followed through their tracking system. This system has stuck since then after what was thought to be a trial mechanism only initially, and this success has influenced their decision to expand the patient tracking system to other facilities in the health system. Patient GPS tracking systems have also been deployed in Singapore. Project OneCare, a brainchild of Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH) and Jurong Community Hospital (JCH), is the driving force behind this implementation. This is an upgrade of their IT systems to offer near paperless service in all their hospital-patient interaction. This information is then sent to the Intelligent Medicine Dispensing System (i-MDS) that will allocate the required medicine to the right patient thereby ensuring correctness in prescription and better management of drugs in hospitals.

This system aims to prevent inadvertent errors in drug administration to patients. Tan Tock Seng Hospital is another Singaporean hospital to adopt the use of RFID. It was first used to track patients within its facilities and be able to follow them for testing. The same technology is now used to monitor the patient's temperature by attaching a tracking device to a patient's abdomen. This has seen its manual systems replaced for the more-efficient system. Moving over to the USA, the patient GPS tracking systems in their health care system is also in use. At the Florida Hospital Celebration Health Medical Facility, this tracking happens on a different set of the population, the medical staff. Nurses here wear badges from Stanley Healthcare which send out their GPS coordinates that are received by the hospital's RF antennas and Wi-Fi network.

This tracking has the aim of analyzing the performance and movement of nurses within the hospital relate to clinical performance. Another advantage of the patient GPS tracking systems is that accurate communication leads toa seamless transition in care from one physician to another. A new physician can access the medical history of a specific patient and base the new treatment with consideration of the previous treatment offered to the patient. The gaps in a patient’s previous plan and medical history are filled. Another advantage with this tracking is that hospitals achieve immediate savings which are also measurable. The time spent on treatment is considerably lower, and physicians can attend to a higher number of patients within a given time as compared to previous years.

More advantages that have been realized through the use of GPS tracking devices is better security for patients. Patients with dementia are tracked through the GPS monitors and their movement closely monitored(Tully, Hearn, & Fahy, 2014). Any action from their ‘safe zones' is noticed immediately and they can be taken back to safe areas so that they do not vanish. This reduces the emotional stress on the patient’s relatives too. The patient GPS tracking devices are also convenient. Patient GPS tracking systems have led to new developments that were not in existence before. There are services providers like PatientPing who send information about patient visits to hospitals and other healthcare providers like primary care physicians. Such is useful when a patient visits a different medical provider and the medical history provided will be of great assistance during a new treatment session.

This is a premium service where hospitals have to pay a premium to be notified when a patient visits a hospital and also on discharge. PatientPing has specifically built stronger relationships between Accountable Care Organizations (ACO)(McDowell et al. Also, tracking device manufacturers are also partnering with cellular network providers to develop apps that would send their messages and locations through the mobile networks. After analyzing all this information regarding the patient GPS tracking system and finding out the benefits that the hospitals and healthcare systems in Singapore and USA enjoy, there is a need to implement the same policies in Australia. This calls for a procurement plan that will ensure the right tracking services are sought from the right providers and in the end benefit the general Australian population.

Procurement planning involves a decision on what to buy when the purchase should happen and from what source(Miniati et al. During this planning, the procurement method is determined and expectations in terms if requirements are also established. This procurement should be within the approved budget for the Ministry of Health Australia for the year in question and planned through its procurement arm in their annual procurement plan. A procurement plan may involve a six-step procurement plan for the whole process. The first stage is the planning phase where the decision on what to procure is made. There should be a budget set aside for this project and a go-ahead from the concerned ministry. The schedule for the project is also set.

The Australian healthcare system also needs a patient experience centre in the hospitals, and this includes the provision of monitors in hospitals that give information to help patients move about efficiently. The second phase is the creation of the tender. The tender is specified as either restricted, open or negotiated and the award criteria are set, either the lowest bidder or best value(Tormey, Byrne, Russell, Collier, & Sreenan, 2017). The technical specifications are outlined here plus the consideration of a feasibility study done to identify the impact of the project on the social, environment front. The second stage is the choice of vendors for the patient GPS tracking system. As this is a public tender, the choice of procurement method is likely to be competitive and open as possible to the general public.

The competitive procurement will allow many of the firms that have proven works in USA and Singapore to bid for this tender. At this stage, the procuring entity, Ministry of Health Australia, is expected to give the anticipated submission date for the tender documents and tender award date. This will create a level field for all competing firms to participate. In this stage, it would be of importance to have a preliminary procurement plan and strategy that outlines the procurement lead time and reasonable deadlines for submissions to avoid any false expectations from the interested parties. The contract should specify the terms so that it is clear if the supply also extends to the installation of the products and maintenance service after that.

The last type of contract to be considered is the cost-sharing contracts. This is when the supplier proposes to Ministry of Health Australia the possibility of cost-sharing in the project implementation. It is also known as the cost reimbursement contract where the contractor is reimbursed a reasonable part of the cost incurred in the course of the contract by the contract terms. The third phase involves the evaluation of the criteria that will be used in the elimination of the bidders. One of them is that the bidder or a representative should be present during the tender-opening period. First tenders to be eliminated are those that are formally incorrect. The technical aspects are then studied and evaluated followed by the ricing as scores are assigned in their weighted categories.

A decision is made for the winning bid. The sixth and final stage is contracting, assignment of roles and responsibilities to the vendors selected for the job at hand. Some community hospitals have their staff conduct physical visits to patients to record and monitor changes in the health. The lag in patient monitoring is the factor that will lead to efforts to introduce patient GPS tracking systems into Australian hospitals. After studying the current situation, there is a need for a strategic plan to address this issue oflack of proper patient monitoring, mostly for those in care homes or their own homes. This plan should work for the foreseeable future as a dynamic change in the Australian healthcare system regarding patient tracking or monitoring.

The strategic planis then executed and managed. Effective plan management should handle the cost effects of this project, the health budget that is in line with the Ministry of Health budget, financial approvals from the relevant authority and a good change adoption for the general Australian populace. An effective plan requires the use of the results from the strengths and weaknesses of the organization and also decisionmaking on the best ways to achieve the desires of the project at hand(Daniel, 2014). An effective plan is future-oriented, integrated and comprehensive. an effective plan has goals, which in this case is the setting up of a patient GPS tracking system. An effective program should have cost controls which play a big part in the success or failure of a project.

In conclusion, the procurement and management strategies for patient GPS tracking system incorporation into hospitals in Australia should be undertaken keenly to achieve the desired results. The tracking of patients away from the physical hospital is very integral in the managing proper medical care for the patients when and as is needed. The system is being introduced to Australia by private firms on a smaller scale, but this project is more significant as the government will handle it through select firms to several public hospitals. The use of patient GPS tracking systems in other countries like Singapore and USA has been studied. From this study, it is safe to say that the use of this system is more beneficial. J Environ Manage, 225, 325-335.

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