An IoT BLE based system literature review of real time location monitoring and tracking to shorten patient wait times in Malaysian public hospitals

Abstract

: One important performance metric in healthcare, particularly in Malaysia’s public hospitals, is patient turnaround time (PTAT). It describes the time that passes between receiving a patient’s request or sample and making a diagnosis or treatment decision. To guarantee prompt patient care, efficient treatment planning, and general healthcare quality, PTAT optimization is essential. Delays in public hospitals are often caused by complex procedures and inefficiencies in patient flow, particularly the lack of tracking when patients leave waiting areas. This study conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) using the PRISMA methodology to examine existing research on PTAT in healthcare. The findings highlight critical factors affecting PTAT in Malaysian hospitals, emphasizing the need for improved patient tracking systems to enhance operational efficiency and healthcare service delivery. It pinpoints recurring themes, knowledge gaps, and possible improvement opportunities. By knowing the elements driving PTAT, administrators, policymakers, and healthcare professionals can be better equipped to adopt measures for improvement. To overcome PTAT difficulties, our study emphasizes the significance of a real-time patient localization system utilizing Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). This internet of things (IoT) based solution provides a unified strategy for enhancing turnaround times by enabling the real-time tracking of patient movements. The proposed method aims to achieve a PTAT of less than an hour by reducing waiting times by 35% through the integration of current technologies into a unified system. Achieving this objective would enhance the overall effectiveness of patient treatment and drastically reduce missed visits.