SynthesisJournal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA2021
Real-time locating systems to improve healthcare delivery: A systematic review.
Synthesis in Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
20 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Operating Room Performance Optimization Metrics: a Systematic Review.Journal of medical systems · 2023Pooled it
- Enhancing Understanding and Acceptance of Equipment Localization: Mixed Methods Study With Clinic Staff and Potential Patients.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- Continuous Patient Monitoring in the Catheterization Laboratory: Usability and Operational Impact Assessment.Cureus · 2026Article
- Technological advancements and the use of key performance indicators in hospital management: a critical-conceptual review.Frontiers in health services · 2026Review
- Radio Frequency Tagging-enabled patient monitoring: integrating mobility tracking with early warning systems for enhanced safety.BioData mining · 2025Article
- Article
- The relationship between nurse contact time and patient outcomes: a retrospective observational study using Real-Time Location data.BMC health services research · 2025Observational
- Real-Time Triage, Position, and Documentation (TriPoD) During Medical Response to Major Incidents: Protocol for an Action Research Study.JMIR research protocols · 2024Article
- Accurate Estimation of Individual Transmission Rates Through Contact Analytics Using UWB Based Indoor Location Data.International Conference on Smart Applications, Communications and Networking : SmartNets. International Conference on Smart Applications, Communications and Networking · 2024Article
- Identifying Contact Time Required for Secondary Transmission of Clostridioides difficile Infections by Using Real-Time Locating System.Emerging infectious diseases · 2024Article
- Factors That Influence Successful Adoption of Real-Time Location Systems for Use in a Dementia Care Setting: Mixed Methods Study.JMIR aging · 2024Article
- Suitability and Adaptability of a Real-Time Location System to Mitigate Item Loss in Dementia Care Facilities.Gerontechnology : international journal on the fundamental aspects of technology to serve the ageing society · 2024Article
- Making clinical teaching visible-A time and motion study of hospital rounds in undergraduate medical teaching.Frontiers in medicine · 2024Article
- A Survey of Mobile Apps for the Care Management of Patients with Dementia.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2022Article
- Measuring intraoperative surgical instrument use with radio-frequency identification.JAMIA open · 2022Article
- Electronic hand hygiene monitoring systems are the wave of the future.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2022Article
- Principles for Designing and Developing a Workflow Monitoring Tool to Enable and Enhance Clinical Workflow Automation.Applied clinical informatics · 2022Article
- Using a Real-Time Locating System to Evaluate the Impact of Telemedicine in an Emergency Department During COVID-19: Observational Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Observational
- Review
- Improving Care Delivery: Location Timestamps to Enhance Process Measurement of a Clinical Workflow.Pediatric quality & safetyArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveModern health care requires patients, staff, and equipment to navigate complex environments to deliver quality care efficiently. Real-time locating systems (RTLS) are local tracking systems that identify the physical locations of personnel and equipment in real time. Applications and analytic strategies to utilize RTLS-produced data are still under development. The objectives of this systematic review were to describe and analyze the key features of RTLS applications and demonstrate their potential to improve care delivery. MATERIALS AND
methodsWe searched MEDLINE, SCOPUS, and IEEE following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. Inclusion criteria were articles that utilize RTLS to evaluate or influence workflow in a healthcare setting. We summarized aspects of relevant articles, identified key themes in the challenges of applying RTLS to workflow improvement, and thematically reviewed the state of quantitative analytic methodologies.
resultsWe included 42 articles in the final qualitative synthesis. The most frequent study design was observational (n = 24), followed by descriptive (n = 12) and experimental (n = 6). The most common clinical environment for study was the emergency department (n = 12), followed by entire hospital (n = 7) and surgical ward (n = 6). DISCUSSION: The focus of studies changed over time from early experience to optimization to evaluation of an established system. Common narrative themes highlighted lessons learned regarding evaluation, implementation, and information visibility. Few studies have developed quantitative techniques to effectively analyze RTLS data.
conclusionsRTLS is a useful and effective adjunct methodology in process and quality improvement, workflow analysis, and patient safety. Future directions should focus on developing enhanced analysis to meaningfully interpret RTLS data.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.