Estimates show that hospitals purchase 10-20% more portable equipment than required

Crownstone and Blyott announce today a new, top-notch, asset tracking solution for hospitals. The partnership combines the in-depth know-how of Blyott regarding healthcare organisations with the Crownstone state-of-the-art asset tracking hardware and software. Crownstone's Bluetooth Mesh pinpoints the location of Blyott BLE tags attached to hospital assets.

The cost reduction is not just achieved through monitoring misplaced or unused hospital assets. Estimates show that hospitals purchase 10-20% more portable equipment than required.

A typical 500-bed hospital has on average 5.000 movable assets to track and trace. An asset costs around EUR 4.000. Henceforth, an inventory reduction of 10% implies capital savings of EUR 2.000.000. Lower capital expenditure also means a reduction of depreciation, storage, and maintenance costs.

For healthcare personnel, it improves the quality of the care they provide, by cutting search time for medical equipment. The key takeaway: asset tracking leads to massive cost reduction by better inventory management for healthcare organisations.

“Bluetooth is ubiquitous. By pinpointing the position of Bluetooth LE tags from many points in a Bluetooth Mesh we can slash the costs of an asset tracking infrastructure” says Anne, CEO at Crownstone. "One of our core values is to save time for our customers and it's extra value to be able to do this for our doctors and nurses," adds Anne.

“We’re thrilled about our partnership with Crownstone as it helps Blyott deliver its location-based solution to those hospitals who don’t have adequate Wi-Fi infrastructure,” says Gery, CEO at Blyott. “Let’s reduce operating cost and create more happiness by putting data to work, for an affordable price. Blyott is here to empower ambitious health organisations to become a great place to work and future proof,” adds Gery.

Crownstone and Blyott's partnership brings Bluetooth asset tracking to hospitals without the need for expensive hardware such as Cisco routers. The first hospital that benefits from this solution is located in Chile. Here many movable assets can now be tracked and monitored without Wi-Fi infrastructure. Other benefits of this partnership include:

1. - A Crownstone functions as a Bluetooth LE scanner (scanning for iBeacons or tags). The hardware can be placed everywhere in a building where power is available, for example behind power outlets or at light fixtures.
2. - The Crownstones form a Bluetooth Mesh. Asset tracking happens safe and secure, independent from the wireless networks in hospitals.
3. - Plug-and-play. Place the Crownstones, attach the Blyott BLE tags to assets and start tracking in real-time. The location of assets is immediately visible in the easy to use web interface.