RFID in Materials Management
Recently constructed, the Heart Hospital Baylor Plano in the Dallas-Fort Worth area adopted RFID to track the facility’s most expensive equipment.
The RFID system for such equipment spans product lifespan at the facility. Items are tagged upon arrival and stored for use. Initial tagging allows quick identification of expired items or devices that have been recalled.
When items are procured to be used during surgery, the date and time are collected by the system, which also notes the individual requisitioning the item.
The RFID technology additionally tracks inventory to facilitate ordering.
Hospital administrators acknowledge that while the equipment was expensive to purchase, it should offset costs from lost supplies which can average $2 million annually. The technology also offers efficiency benefits, decreasing time required for inventory related tasks.
The system was installed by Mobile Aspects, Inc. of Pittsburgh and uses RFID technology from Texas Instruments.
Related stories:
- RFID for Surgical Equipment
- Counterarguments for Asset Tracking with RFID
- RFID Technology Tracks Medical Equipment
- Implanted Data Chips About to Be Available in Some DC Hospitals
May 1, 2007 Related topics: Supply chain/SCM, IT & software