HID Expands Healthcare Offering

HID has acquired Guard RFID, a leading provider of real-time location services (RTLS) hardware and software solutions in the healthcare space.

“Bringing Guard RFID and its innovative RTLS technology into the HID family allows us to enhance our healthcare presence to better protect patients and staff,” said Björn Lidefelt, EVP and Head of HID. “As incidents in healthcare facilities continue to rise, these solutions will help providers do what they do best – making their patients feel better, faster.”

Guard RFID’s suite of active RFID tags, readers, exciters and software support four primary use cases important to the healthcare market, including:

• Infant Security: The Totguard infant security system prevents infant abduction and mother-baby mismatches by providing wearable tags for mothers and infants. The system works in conjunction with both a hospital’s access control and network video systems.
• Staff Duress: 44% of nurses experience physical violence in the workplace, according to the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses. Small, lightweight active RFID tags equipped with a call button can be worn on a wristband or lanyard to help protect healthcare workers in the event of duress.
• Asset Tracking: RFID tags are used to provide the real-time visibility of healthcare assets and enable staff to quickly find the equipment they need. This improves asset utilisation, saves labour costs, and reduces theft.
• Patient Wandering: At-risk patients, such as the elderly or those struggling with mental health, are tagged and become instantly detected at exit doors, stairwells, and elevators. The doors can be configured to lock and sound alarms when the tags are detected in proximity, offering an extra level of protection to these patients and their caregivers.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, Guard RFID is now part of HID’s Identification Technologies Business Area led by Marc Bielmann. The Guard RFID offering will merge into HID’s Internet of Things (IoT) Business Unit and benefit from HID’s sales and other global functions to support its offering.