Censitrac to Provide Surgical Instrument Management Systems at VA Medical Centers

Censis Technologies, Inc.s Censitrac Surgical Instrument Management System, has
been selected to provide core sterile reprocessing functions and Real Time Location System (RTLS) functionality at all 152 U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs medical centers and as a subcontractor to HP under part of a $543 million federal contract, announced Randy Smith, president and chief executive officer of Censis Technologies.

Censitrac, which was already deployed at 47 VA facilities, provides cutting-edge infrastructure that location-enables surgical assets at all of the VAs healthcare facilities. This technology will also help automate the management of surgical instrumentation and reprocessing documentation impacting availability, utilization, shrinkage and patient safety.

Our cutting-edge technology allows the VA to appropriately serve its patients by offering a high-quality yet incredibly efficient, system, says Mike Patterson, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Censis Technologies. The fact that Censitrac was selected after an exhaustive review process further validates our technology and approach.

The VA has developed a reputation for setting important healthcare IT standards. The concept of Electronic Medical Records (EMR) was a direct result of the Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture (VistA). The VA developed the first automated data processing systems with extensive clinical and administrative capabilities. The VA later received the Computerworld Smithsonian Award for best use of Information Technology in Medicine.

As one of the base applications in the Department of Veterans Affairs RTLS program, the Sterile Processing Workflow Application is anchored by the Censitrac Instrument Tracking Software.

Censitracs open architecture, in conjunction with the HP Enterprise Services/Intelligent InSites platform, ensures the VA will have a truly integrated sterile processing instrument and scope tracking system, says Kimberly Brayley, director of the RTLS Project Management Office, Veterans Health Administration. "Leveraging stateof-
the-art technology allows VA to decrease operational costs and increase efficiencies, satisfaction and quality healthcare delivery."

Censitrac guides sterile processing professionals through proper sterilization procedures; tracks the location, usage and maintenance of every uniquely identified instrument and mobile assets; and interfaces with OR scheduling systems to ensure surgeons have the right instruments when they need them. With Censitrac, the reprocessing data and procedure case history for every instrument and endoscope is readily available for root cause analysis. This means OR efficiency and infection control are aligned, thereby improving the path to patient safety.

Source: Censis Technologies