Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) in Wander Management: Enhancing Safety for Dementia Care
Caring for individuals with dementia comes with unique challenges, one of the most urgent being the risk of wandering. Research shows that more than half of people living with dementia will wander at some point. While wandering itself may not always be dangerous, when it happens in unsupervised or unsecured environments, the risks can be life-threatening.
Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) offer an innovative way to enhance wander management, combining real-time patient tracking with advanced safety features to protect vulnerable residents.
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
What Is RTLS in Healthcare?
A Real-Time Location System (RTLS) is a technology that tracks and monitors the precise location of people or assets within a defined area. In healthcare facilities and long-term care settings, RTLS typically uses small wearable tags that transmit signals to provide continuous visibility of a resident’s movements.
With RTLS, staff members can quickly locate residents, prevent unsafe situations, and respond to incidents before they escalate.
RTLS and Wander Management
Traditional wander management systems, such as ResidentGuard, focus on preventing unsafe exits by securing doors and triggering alerts when residents at risk approach. RTLS complements these systems by adding an additional layer of visibility and proactive safety:
- Facility-wide visibility: Staff can view a resident’s exact location anywhere within the monitored area, not just at doorways.
- Proactive alerts and safe zones: Customizable “safe zones” can be established, with notifications if a resident moves beyond those boundaries.
- Behavioral and movement insights: Historical tracking data reveals movement patterns that help caregivers anticipate needs, identify risks, and adjust care plans more effectively.
This shift from reactive alarms to proactive monitoring helps care teams adopt a more person-centered, preventative approach to dementia wandering.
Why Integration Matters
While Accutech Security does not provide an RTLS platform, our ResidentGuard wander management system can integrate with RTLS technologies. This means healthcare communities don’t need to choose between door security and real-time location data—they can have both, working together in a single, cohesive safety strategy.
Selecting a wander management platform that “plays nicely” with other systems is critical. Facilities benefit from solutions that don’t lock them into one vendor or siloed technology, but instead provide flexibility to expand and integrate with RTLS and other platforms as their needs evolve.
Benefits of a Layered Safety Approach
- Residents: More freedom within safe areas while maintaining dignity and independence.
- Families: Greater peace of mind knowing their loved ones are being safeguarded both at exits and throughout the facility.
- Care Teams: Improved efficiency, reduced alarm fatigue, and faster, more accurate responses.
The Future of Wander Management
As healthcare organizations continue to embrace digital transformation, integration will be the key to success. Wander management platforms like ResidentGuard, designed for robust security and flexible integration, create a layered, future-ready approach to resident safety.
By combining the strengths of door security with the visibility of RTLS, facilities can better protect residents with dementia, while also supporting their autonomy and quality of life.
