Healthcare services, from hospitals to pharmacies, require a significant amount of organisation to ensure processes remain smooth and productive. RFID in healthcare is one innovative method that healthcare organisations can utilise to reduce wastage, improve efficiency and reduce costs.
Our RFID (radio frequency identification) experts will help you make the decision, outlining the advantages and limitations of both systems and providing guidance on which option could best suit your business.
What Is RFID?
RFID, or Radio Frequency Identification, is a system where electromagnetic fields are used to track and identify objects through the use of tags. These tags can be read by an RFID reader up to a specific distance and contain a microchip and antenna, allowing the RFID reader to send and receive signals through each tag.
Typically, RFID tags and readers are paired with a software system known as a ‘host system’, where the location of tagged objects is stored and can easily be viewed on a computer, tablet or smartphone. While RFID is often compared to barcode readers, it provides greater flexibility and oversight, as direct line of sight is not needed to read the tags.
How RFID Works in Healthcare
RFID provides an easy way for healthcare facilities to manage inventory, track equipment or monitor patients moving through a clinic or hospital. The steps for setting up and implementing RFID for hospital asset tracking are straightforward:
- Tag equipment or inventory with an RFID label
- RFID readers can automatically scan items within their range
- Data from the readers is transmitted to a central dashboard
- Staff can view and track asset locations and inventory levels in real-time
Why Hospitals Are Adopting RFID Technology
Asset management is a serious concern for hospitals. Stock checks can take a significant amount of time, and with so many individual items involved in patient care, equipment can easily go missing, requiring it to be tracked down or replaced. In addition, hospitals have strict compliance requirements to meet for the storage and safety of equipment, which can be difficult to handle.
RFID provides real-time visibility of all hospital assets, saving time finding equipment and reducing the costs of replacement. Staff are able to manage stock efficiently and locate equipment without manual processes, making it easy to comply with all necessary regulations and procedures.
Common Uses of RFID in Healthcare
Medical Equipment Tracking
RFID is extremely useful in healthcare, as a large amount of varied – often expensive – equipment is necessary for daily tasks. Anything from small surgical tools to large mobile diagnostic machines can be tagged with RFID, which is then scanned automatically. Data on each item can be found in a central dashboard, allowing for prompt and easy real-time asset location.
Hospital Inventory Management
Using an RFID system is also an effective tool for tracking the smaller, less expensive inventory items within hospitals. For example, medical supplies, consumables, pharmaceuticals and PPE can all be tracked. Real-time monitoring can make it easy to maintain a healthy stock level of items and to know when to dispose of out-of-date inventory where applicable. In addition, it’s easier to quickly spot any discrepancies in typical use of inventory such as controlled pharmaceuticals or supplies.
Patient Identification and Tracking
RFID wristbands offer a non-intrusive way to speed up workflows by tracking the movement of patients throughout a healthcare facility, allowing medical professionals to easily find patients. RFIDs can also act as a form of identification, protecting patients from receiving the wrong treatment by ensuring they are directed to the correct facilities and services as a part of the positive patient identification process.
Asset Maintenance and Compliance
Keeping track of maintenance schedules, particularly for devices that require maintenance after a specific amount of usage, is vital for hospitals to prevent equipment failure. RFID hospital asset tracking can provide insight into the usage history of equipment and can also store further vital data, such as set maintenance schedules and any calibration requirements for the equipment.
Key Benefits of RFID in Healthcare
Greater Operational Efficiency
RFID technology directly reduces the time staff spend finding equipment, which enhances operational efficiency while reducing wasted time. This is particularly important in fast-paced areas of the hospital, such as A&Es and ICUs. This same principle applies to the tracking of staff and patients, preventing delays in starting patient treatment or in seeking support or a second opinion.
Faster and More Accurate Stocktakes
Using RFID to manage inventory in healthcare greatly reduces the burden of stocktaking, with no need for manual counting or scanning of individual barcodes in line of sight. Instead, an RFID system allows you to view all stock in a central location, with RFID tags and readers providing a real-time, continually updating stocktake that accurately reflects the current level of stock.
Real-Time Visibility of Assets
Real-time visibility can allow healthcare teams to source the materials and supplies they need immediately, with no need to wait for support or intervention from other teams or employees. This prevents lengthy wait times and gives an oversight to assets that are not in their correct location, enabling them to be moved back to their correct placement.
Reduced Equipment Loss
Proper tracking of equipment through an RFID system can proactively prevent the loss or misplacement of assets. The sizes of many healthcare facilities can make it easy for even large items to be lost, rendering them unavailable and potentially pushing back crucial patient care. Many of the items used in hospitals are costly to replace, making prevention a vital method to reduce equipment costs.
Improved Patient Care
Better oversight over anything from equipment locations to patient movement can improve the quality of patient care. By reducing waiting times and backlogs caused by finding equipment or looking for medical professionals, patients have a smoother experience when receiving treatment. Greater efficiency enables hospitals to deliver safer, more efficient care.
How RFID Supports Hospital Inventory Management
RFID hospital inventory management provides real-time insight into assets and supplies. This enables:
- Automatic tracking of stock levels: By having continual access to available stock, it’s easier to maintain consistent levels and to identify trends in stock levels at different times of the year
- Monitoring supply usage: Tracking how quickly supplies are being used can offer insight into restock requirements and indicate any overusage of materials that should be addressed
- Triggered reordering: Automated reordering processes can be combined with an RFID system, either notifying the correct individual of low stock or allowing the direct placement of a new order
- Reduced waste from overstocking: A full overview of stock levels in all areas of the hospital can reduce the risk of overordering, making it easier for different departments to share assets as needed collaboratively
Implementing an RFID system can improve operational decision-making, providing access to all the information needed to reduce the costs of inventory while still supplying all necessary resources.
Interested in an RFID System for Your Hospitals? Contact Our Expert Team Today
An RFID system is an ideal choice for healthcare, an industry where there are an overwhelming number of moving parts required to provide effective patient care.
At TEC-RFID, we can support you with powerful solutions designed for your needs, improving your inventory management to help you save on costs and enhance efficiency. Get in touch with our team today to discuss our RFID systems for healthcare.