Scott Fincher | 21 February, 2025
Understanding the Importance of User Identification
Your tube system is a data repository. Alarm history, transaction details, configurations, and site topology are all in there to assist with troubleshooting and maintenance. And yet, there is critical data that most hospitals don’t utilize that can really augment your tube system operation. The tube system has been engineered to know where a carrier came from, where it was going to, and when it was sent. However, it can also be important to know who initiated the transaction. Why is this important? Let’s dig into some hypothetical use cases.
Carrier tracking:
Missing samples – Let’s say you’re the lab manager. The ED said they sent a time sensitive sample, but it never arrived. So where is it? You call facilities but all they can give you is a list of transactions out of the ED for a specific time frame. Now you must pour through a dozen or so transactions before noticing one that went to the second-floor nurses’ station, not a place ED typically sends carriers. You call that department and sure enough, the sample is sitting in their bin. It was misaddressed. Depending on how long it sat there the ED may have to get a new sample after you spent all that time tracking it down. Imagine the time and energy you could save if you could track it down by who sent it, not just where it came from and when?
Missing medications – You’re the pharmacy manager. You sent some very expensive medications to med-surg for a specific patient, but the attending nurse just called and said she can’t find them. You ask your staff, and they assure you they sent it to med-surg. You call facilities and they run a report showing a carrier left the pharmacy to med-surg when your staff said they sent it. So, what happened? Someone picked it up but who? It wasn’t a controlled substance but given the cost you’d rather not write it off. What if the report from facilities could not only confirm it arrived but also tell you who picked it up?
Missing blood – Same scenario as above but instead you run the blood bank. You know your staff sent it, but the intended recipient said it never showed up. What if rather than the expense of sending it again, you could track down exactly who retrieved it?
Problem carriers – Spills, stuck carriers, and items sent that don’t conform to your tube system policy or are mislabeled can all cause problems. Such issues point to training challenges but, as the facilities and nursing directors, how do you know who to train? When problems like this occur, it is typically a small number of people responsible but standard reporting only tells you the department that sent it. You don’t want to retrain the whole department, just give a refresher to those that need it. Here too, there is a way to know who.
Chain of custody:
You’re the pharmacy manager and you wish you could still use the tube system to send controlled substances but are no longer comfortable with the standard options. The codes or PINs used can be easily shared or forgotten. And as you’ve likely learned the hard way, a forgotten PIN will cause the stations to lock access. So now you rely on manual delivery. Instead, what if you could not only authorize, but also track exactly who sent and/or who retrieved a carrier containing controlled substances?
Securing stations:
Security doors – You’re the facilities manager and had a security door installed along with a new station in a publicly accessible area. You and your staff keep seeing a sticky note added to the station with the PIN. You change the PIN and a new sticky note gets added. Hardly the physical security measure the JCO rep had in mind when he noted a security door was needed. What other method can you use to grant access and keep track of who uses this station?
Locking down the touch screen – You’re the facilities manager for a hospital that only wants authorized users on the tube system. You can install a security door for the bin but not the touch screen. What if you could lock it down only to those authorized to use it?
WhoTube, TransLogic’s badge secure option:
TransLogic badge secure option, WhoTube, lets you leverage the badge staff already carry to support all the use cases above and probably others we haven’t even considered. Dozens of customers I’ve spoken to have our badge secure option in place for one or two of these use cases – access doors or to find missing lab samples for example - but didn’t realize the full extent to which WhoTube could improve hospital operations in other areas. And for those not using WhoTube, even if only one of these options resonated with you, it is probably worth looking into.
Every hospital has missing carriers whether daily, weekly or monthly. Why not make it easier to find them and save money and time in the process?
Hospital policy dictates whether you can use the tube system for controlled substances or blood. If the use cases above are why your hospital relies on manual delivery or other methods for such items, you may be able to reconsider your policy and get more out of your tube system investment.
Nearly every hospital has stations in public areas they need to secure or stations where they wish they could lock down the touch screen. To grant access, WhoTube beats all other alternatives with a simple badge swipe.
Modern Pneumatic Tube Systems Improve Operations
Implementing WhoTube can significantly enhance the efficiency and security of your hospital's tube system, saving time, reducing costs, and improving overall operations. Not to mention, in the looming age of AI -- having data throughout the workflow will be crucial for taking things to the next level of efficiency.
