RFID for Health Care Productivity
Molly Joel Coye, M.D., MPH, CEO of The Health Technology Center, writes this wrap-up about applications of Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) in hospitals. Silicon chips embedded in small tags that can be attached to or implanted in objects and people, broadcast data over radio waves about their location and other properties. Among use cases:
- Equipment such as wheelchairs can be tagged so that personnel does not waste nearly so much time chasing them down. Log on a computer to see the looked-after equipment conveniently spotted on a map of your facility .
- Easily and quickly address patient wandering from people with conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease using location-triggered alerts.
- Reduce product loss, hoarding, rentals, courier charges and other inventory-related plagues
There is even more potential by improving workflows to leverage RFID. For example, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston track surgical patients across several builds and departments ot have an overall picture of their hospital stay and interactions with staff. See also this case study.
February 17, 2006 Related topics: Wireless