Survey Finds 68% of Healthcare Respondents Not Familiar with Indoor Location Technologies

In a recent B2B technology survey of 455 U.S.-based companies across nine verticals, ABI Research finds that only 32% of respondents are familiar with indoor location technologies and their cost saving benefits. The findings show a disconnect between the healthcare industry’s evident need for an asset tracking solution and their willingness to implement one. Only 2% of healthcare respondents had plans to deploy an indoor location solution within the next twelve months.

“The healthcare industry could see significant returns on investment by tracking assets such as infusion pumps across facilities, especially as medical devices become increasingly advanced and more expensive” says Samuel McLaughlin, Research Analyst at ABI Research. “There is reluctance within healthcare to deploy asset tracking solutions, despite the potential to save both money and lives. Installation expenses can be high if the solution is not compatible with the hospital’s already-existing network infrastructure and regulations. Indoor location vendors must demonstrate they can offer standards-based systems which can support interoperability features, resulting in easier installation and reduced upfront costs.”

Multiple industry sources estimate that between 10% and 20% of hospital inventory is stolen or lost each year.  This could be partly attributed to healthcare personnel favoring certain equipment and keeping it in areas where only they can access it, rather than where it should be stored. Typical assets that might be tracked in a hospital include ventilators, dialysis machines, heart rate monitors, wheelchairs, and IV pumps. One hospital alone has estimated the yearly cost of replacing IV pumps at US$70k.

Adoption of new and emerging technologies has been traditionally slower in healthcare compared to other verticals, often due to funding issues and cost-saving measures at a government or organizational level. “Recent breaches in security in healthcare systems due to antiquated systems across the world should serve as a wake-up call in hospital organizations to embrace emerging technologies sooner rather than later,” concludes McLaughlin.

These findings are from ABI Research’s Industry Survey: Transformative Technology Adoption and Attitudes report. This report is part of the company’s Location Technologies research service, which includes research, data, and analyst insights.