[Irvine, CA & Cincinnati, OH] December 4, 2024 – HCI, a leading provider of healthcare communication solutions, is partnering with Penguin Location Services, a leading AI/ML enabled IoT provider whose BLE 5.1-powered location solution enables new healthcare efficiencies and improves patient experience. The strategic partnership brings together two advanced technologies to deliver a transformational patient and clinical experience with patient TVs.

Penguin’s AI-powered staff badges seamlessly integrate with HCI’s patient engagement platform to provide comprehensive visibility into patient room activities. These advanced BLE 5.1-enabled locating devices track the movements and interactions of healthcare professionals, allowing both staff and family members to access real-time and historical data about who has been in a patient’s room, all from the in-room TV. This integration ensures that care teams are well-informed about the presence and involvement of various healthcare providers. Additionally, family members gain peace of mind knowing that their loved ones are receiving attentive and timely care. The combined capabilities of Penguin’s AI technology and HCI’s robust platform not only improve operational efficiency but also elevate the overall patient and family experience.

“Since the majority of patients are familiar with using the TV in the room, we believe that having location services also available will increase patient and family member involvement,” said David Dawod, Chief Technology Officer at HCI, “Penguin’s technology frees up nurses to focus on clinical tasks instead of manually documenting patient interactions through apps and traditional whiteboards. With Penguin’s high accuracy and low latency, healthcare organizations can integrate location tracking with other medical equipment such as IV pumps and wheelchairs – it’s an important solution for hospitals and health systems to consider.”

“By enabling location services on HCI’s interactive TV platform, we are making it significantly easier to provide timely communication between patients, care teams, and family members,” said James Riley, Director of Business Development at Penguin Location Services. “Together, our organizations are bringing patient engagement tools and location services information onto a single monitor in the room.”

About Penguin Location Services

Penguin Location Services™ improves enterprise operational efficiency, visitor experience, workflow and safety via the world’s most advanced location engine supporting BLE 5.1 and above infrastructure. Penguin’s AI and ML powered location algorithms support high velocity updates and sub-room level accuracy across the entire enterprise.

Learn more at www.penguinin.com

About HCI

HCI is a leading provider of healthcare communication solutions, specializing in interactive patient TVs, digital whiteboards, and digital signage. With a focus on empowering patients, enhancing communication, and optimizing workflows, HCI’s solutions enable healthcare organizations to deliver exceptional care and achieve better patient outcomes.

Learn more at www.hci-tv.com

By Mohammed Smadi, PhD

Every day, healthcare leaders are challenged to provide quality care while maintaining a positive balance sheet. This goal has been harder to achieve in recent years, despite advances in medical technology and patient safety.

For example, The New England Journal of Medicine reported that nearly a quarter of hospital admissions resulted in at least one adverse event in 2018 and 23% of those events were deemed to be preventable. Between 2023 and 2024, hospitals experienced a double-digit increase in non-labor expenses, according to Strata. As a result, 40% of American hospitals had been losing money from operations during that time, KaufmanHall found.

Real-time location services (RTLS) can address these issues and many others. While this technology has historically been overlooked due to its cost and limited accuracy, recent developments in AI and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) have made RTLS solutions more affordable and accessible.

Read the full article

Healthcare IT Today interviews Dr.Smadi regarding the importance of standardization and how it can revolutionize the RTLS space within healthcare. Watch the interview below or read the full article here.

 

IoT company Penguin Location Services has teamed with its workflow application provider—ZulaFly—to develop health care solutions for location and safety that include RFID-based real time locating systems (RTLS).

Read the full article here.