The latest Columna Flow release brings accessible tracking, enhanced platform connectivity, and real-time task visibility

The New TrackLite solution, iOS compatibility, and Command Centre insights enhance hospital workflow coordination.

Hospitals face mounting pressure to coordinate complex workflows across departments whilst managing limited resources. Staff struggle to locate equipment when needed, clinical teams work across disconnected platforms, and coordinators lack real-time visibility into operational bottlenecks.

Our latest Columna Flow 2025.5 release addresses these challenges with three focused enhancements designed to simplify hospital operations and improve care coordination.

TrackLite: Your entry point to smarter equipment management

Many hospitals recognise the value of asset tracking but hesitate due to perceived complexity or infrastructure requirements. Columna Flow TrackLite removes these barriers with an accessible Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) solution that transforms how you locate and manage hospital assets.

TrackLite provides real-time visibility of medical equipment and assistive devices, eliminating the need for extensive infrastructure investment. Staff can quickly locate all hospital assets, including fellow colleagues, through their mobile devices, reducing time spent searching and ensuring equipment reaches patients when needed.

TrackLite uses a crowdsourcing approach where existing staff mobile applications detect BLE beacons attached to equipment. With minimal hardware investment - just low-maintenance beacons - hospitals can quickly test use cases and identify high-impact areas before committing to advanced tracking infrastructure.

What this means for you: 

• Low-barrier solution to test use cases and validate benefits before larger tracking investments

• Staff spend less time hunting for equipment and more time on patient care

• Better equipment utilisation across departments

TrackLite offers an accessible entry point into equipment tracking, providing the foundation for hospitals to expand into comprehensive Search & Find capabilities as their needs evolve.

Clinical Tasking: Mobile-first intelligence at the point of care

Healthcare happens where patients are, not at desktop workstations. Columna Flow Clinical Tasking is built with a mobile-first architecture, compatible with both iOS and Android, and is purpose-designed for healthcare professionals on the move. This approach enables real-time collaboration and decision-making at the point of care, with essential features available exclusively through mobile workflows.

But Clinical Tasking goes beyond device compatibility. As a healthcare "super app", the platform provides intelligent monitoring by seamlessly integrating with hospital systems - EPR, fall detection sensors, vital signs monitors - creating a unified notification layer that addresses one of healthcare's most pressing challenges: alarm fatigue.

Traditional monitoring systems broadcast alerts to all staff, creating overwhelming noise that dulls responsiveness to critical situations. Clinical Tasking routes alerts intelligently, delivering notifications only to the clinician assigned to each specific patient. When a patient's vital signs deteriorate or a fall is detected, the right person receives the alert instantly, whilst other staff remain focused on their own patients.

What this means for you: 

• Clinical decisions happen at the bedside, not back at a workstation

• Critical alerts reach assigned clinicians instantly, eliminating alarm fatigue

• Staff access tasks, communication, and notifications through one application

• Reduced cognitive load improves staff wellbeing and response effectiveness

Built on FHIR standards for seamless data exchange, the platform creates a unified, open ecosystem to support clinical workflows and patient care whilst maximising your existing technology investments.

Command Centre: Mobile intelligence for everyone, not just the back office

Traditional command centres confine operational intelligence to large screens in management offices. Command Centre for Task Management takes a fundamentally different approach with a mobile-first design that puts real-time insights directly into the hands of team leaders and frontline staff, not just coordinators and administrators.

Porters, team supervisors, and department coordinators access the same operational visibility on their mobile devices, enabling faster decisions exactly where work happens. View blocking tasks, completion rates, and team workloads in real-time. Compare current progress against typical patterns to identify when teams need support. Escalate priority tasks across multiple teams to ensure critical operations are completed on time.

What this means for you: 

• Team leaders make informed decisions on the floor, not after returning to an office

• Frontline staff see their workload context and identify where colleagues need support

• Early identification of blocking tasks enables proactive intervention before bottlenecks form

• Data-driven forecasting helps predict and manage upcoming task volumes across shifts

Command Centre democratises operational intelligence, empowering everyone from porters to coordinators with the visibility traditionally confined to management dashboards.

Note: Command Centre also provides intelligence for Clinical Tasking workflows, extending the same mobile-first visibility to clinical coordination and patient flow optimization.

Continuous Innovation for Better Patient Care 

These enhancements represent our ongoing commitment to solving real healthcare challenges. We are committed to evolving Columna Flow based on your real hospital needs and user feedback. Every update has one goal: releasing more time for the patient care that matters most. 

Used by 84,000+ healthcare professionals across 60+ hospitals internationally, Columna Flow continues to demonstrate how the right technology can transform hospital operations without compromising clinical focus. 

Ready to transform your hospital workflows? 

Whether you're looking to reduce patient delays, streamline equipment management, or improve staff coordination, our healthcare specialists can help you understand how Columna Flow fits your hospital’s needs.