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Movement Retraining using Real-time Feedback of Performance
Published on: January 17, 2013
Measuring nursing movements using real time tracking data at the Royal Wolverhampton Hospital Trust
Ann-Marie Cannaby1, Vanda Carter1, Stephenson Strobel2
1The Royal Wolverhampton Hospital NHS Trust, United Kingdom.
Spatial and Spatio-Temporal Epidemiology
|December 2, 2022
Summary
Many nurses do not fully comply with Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) in healthcare settings. This imperfect staff compliance impacts the accuracy of data derived from RTLS for organizational insights.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Informatics
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) are gaining traction in healthcare for applications like contact tracing and staff management.
- Effective utilization of RTLS for organizational insights hinges on consistent staff adherence to the system.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the compliance rate of nurses with the RTLS at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.
- To quantify the extent to which nurses are utilizing the RTLS as intended.
Main Methods:
- RTLS data on nurse movements were collected at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust.
- The number of active RTLS users was determined and compared against scheduled nursing rotas.
- Nurse activity was analyzed based on movement frequency and daily RTLS usage duration.
Main Results:
- A notable proportion of nurses exhibited low activity levels in the RTLS data.
- Approximately 15% of active users recorded fewer than 10 movements daily.
- Despite low movement counts for some, most active users' RTLS engagement aligned with average shift durations.
Conclusions:
- The findings highlight potential limitations in staff compliance with RTLS in healthcare.
- Future applications leveraging RTLS data must consider and potentially mitigate the impact of imperfect staff adherence.
- Accurate organizational insights from RTLS require addressing the variability in staff compliance.

