Benefits and Barriers of Implementation and Utilization of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) Systems in Transfusion Medicine

Radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology is used by hospital supply chains to track medical products and monitor inventories. Hospitals have also begun incorporating RFID technology as part of their transfusion processes. The purpose of this review was to analyze how healthcare organization supply chains can benefit from the utilization of RFID systems in transfusion service departments. The methodology for this study was a literature review following the steps of a systematic review with a total of 52 sources referenced. RFID technology is used to manage and track blood products from the initial donor phlebotomy to final disposition or product transfusion. RFID-enabled transfusion practices have successfully increased provider productivity and product quality through work-time reduction and error reduction. Findings of this research study suggest that RFID has provided improvements in quality of care and efficiency, while initial costs, security, and privacy appear to be the principal barriers to adoption

Impact of Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) Technologies on the Hospital Supply Chain: A Literature Review

Supply costs account for more than one-third of the average operating budget and constitute the second largest expenditure in hospitals. As hospitals have sought to reduce these costs, radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology has emerged as a solution. This study reviews existing literature to gauge the recent and potential impact and direction of the implementation of RFID in the hospital supply chain to determine current benefits and barriers of adoption. Findings show that the application of RFID to medical equipment and supplies tracking has resulted in efficiency increases in hospitals with lower costs and increased service quality. RFID technology can reduce costs, improve patient safety, and improve supply chain management effectiveness by increasing the ability to track and locate equipment, as well as monitoring theft prevention, distribution management, and patient billing. Despite ongoing RFID implementation in the hospital supply chain, barriers to widespread and rapid adoption include significant total expenditures, unclear return on investment, and competition with other strategic imperatives

Evaluation of medical response in disaster preparedness : with special reference to full-scale exercises

Background: Disaster exercises and simulations serves as teaching and training tool for improving medical response in disaster preparedness. Rapid and effective medical response in major incidents is known as a “key phase” to optimise resources, and this requires that management systems have an “all hazards” approach. Decision-making at all levels of management is based on available information and involves allocation of medical resources and triage decisions. Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to increase our knowledge of the impact of quantitative evaluation of medical response on disaster preparedness. The specific aims were: to increase the ability to learn from full-scale exercises by applying quality indicators at two levels of command and control (I, II); to identify key indicators essential for initial disaster medical response registration (III); to explore ambulance staff attitudes towards practising triage tagging (IV); and to increase our knowledge of the applicability of a technical support system and its potential to provide real-time, overall situation awareness available to those overseeing the medical management of the operation. Methods: Study I, II and V were observational studies based on data collections from full-scale exercises. Templates with measurable performance indicators for evaluation of command and control were used in Study I and II and the same performance indicators combined with outcome indicators was also included in Study II. A consensus method, the Delphi technique, with 30 experts was used in Study III. Study IV used mixed methods, a pre-and post web survey answered by ambulance nurses and physicians (n=57 respectively 57) before and after a time limited strategy with triage tags and three focus groups interviews comprising 21 ambulance nurses and emergency medical technicians. Study V used major two incidents simulations to test the applicability of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID tags) technology and compare it with traditionally paper-based triage tags (n= 20 respectively 20). The quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics, and content analysis was used for the qualitative data. Results: The evaluation model exposed several problems occurring in the initial decision-making process that were repeatedly observed (I, II). These results in study II also demonstrated to have a major impact on patient outcome.Out of 17 severely injured patients five respectively seven were at risk for preventable death. A total of 97 statements were generated, of these 77 statements reached experts consensus, and 20 did not (III). Ambulance staffs believe in the usefulness of standardised triage methods, but the sparse application of triage tags at the scene indicates that the tags are not used frequently. Infrequent use in daily practice prevents participants from feeling confident with the triage tool (IV).The Radio Frequency Identification system improved situational awareness in disaster management. Triage information was available at least one hour earlier compared to a paper-based triage system (V). Conclusions: The presented evaluation model can be used in an objective, systematic and reproducible way to evaluate complex medical responses, which is a prerequisite for quality assurance, identification of problems, and the development of disaster preparedness

Management of RFID Systems in Hospital Transfusion Services

Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) technology is used by hospital supply chains to track various medical products and monitor inventories. To improve overall operations, hospitals have implemented RFID as part of their supply chain processes. Hospitals have also have begun incorporating RFID technology as part of their transfusion services processes. The purpose of this review was to analyze how healthcare organization supply chains can benefit from the utilization of RFID systems in transfusion services departments. The methodology for this study was a literature review following the steps of a systematic review with a total of 51 sources referenced. RFID technology is being used to manage and track blood products from the initial donor phlebotomy to final disposition or product transfusion. Through RFID, transfusion departments and hospital supply chains have been able to manage blood samples and components to facilitate identification and transfusion of blood products to the correct patient. RFID-enabled transfusion practices have successfully increased provider productivity and product quality through work-reduction times and error reduction. A pilot study in one Iowa hospital system yielded a 3%-10% reduction in misidentification of patients and/or blood products during transfusion. A cost-benefit assessment reported showed a 5-year ROI of 2%, with an approximate pay-back period of four years. Cost of RFID tags can be 10-15 times more expensive than barcode systems. There are also risks of this technology involving privacy and the security of patient information. Findings of this research study suggest that RFID has provided improvements in quality of care and efficiency, while initial costs, security and privacy appeared as principal barriers of adoption

M-health review: joining up healthcare in a wireless world

In recent years, there has been a huge increase in the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to deliver health and social care. This trend is bound to continue as providers (whether public or private) strive to deliver better care to more people under conditions of severe budgetary constraint

RFID adaption in healthcare organizations: An integrative framework

Radio frequency identification (RFID), also known as electronic label technology, is a non-contact automated identification technology that recognizes the target object and extracts relevant data and critical characteristics using radio frequency signals. Medical equipment information management is an important part of the construction of a modern hospital, as it is linked to the degree of diagnosis and care, as well as the hospital\u27s benefits and growth. The aim of this study is to create an integrated view of a theoretical framework to identify factors that influence RFID adoption in healthcare, as well as to conduct an empirical review of the impact of organizational, environmental, and individual factors on RFID adoption in the healthcare industry. In contrast to previous research, the current study focuses on individual factors as well as organizational and technological factors in order to better understand the phenomenon of RFID adoption in healthcare, which is characterized as a dynamic and challenging work environment. This research fills a gap in the current literature by describing how user factors can influence RFID adoption in healthcare and how such factors can lead to a deeper understanding of the advantages, uses, and impacts of RFID in healthcare. The proposed study has superior performance and effective results

RFID adoption in healthcare organizations in UAE

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is currently regarded as one of the most promising technologies, and considered as one of the sixteen key technologies in the coming decade, specifically in terms of its use, pervasiveness, market demand and commercial availability. RFID is perceived as critical technology for many purposes and applications, such as improving the efficiency and effectiveness in business operations and improving customer service. This research therefore has a hedonic motivation in developing an incorporated view of theoretical framework to identify factors that affect RFID adoption in healthcare and providing an empirical analysis of the effect of both organizational and individual factors on the diffusion of RFID based on the health care industry. Unlike other studies, the current study places more attention on individual factors in addition to the organizational factors and technological factors in an attempt to better understand the phenomenon of RFID adoption in health care, which is described as a complex and a very demanding work environment. This study serves to fill a gap in the existing literature through explaining of how user factors can contribute to the adoption of RFID in healthcare and how such factors might lead to better understanding of the benefits, use and impacts of RFID in health care sector

Location estimation in smart homes setting with RFID systems

Indoor localisation technologies are a core component of Smart Homes. Many applications within Smart Homes benefit from localisation technologies to determine the locations of things, objects and people. The tremendous characteristics of the Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) systems have become one of the enabler technologies in the Internet of Things (IOT) that connect objects and things wirelessly. RFID is a promising technology in indoor positioning that not only uniquely identifies entities but also locates affixed RFID tags on objects or subjects in stationary and real-time. The rapid advancement in RFID-based systems has sparked the interest of researchers in Smart Homes to employ RFID technologies and potentials to assist with optimising (non-) pervasive healthcare systems in automated homes. In this research localisation techniques and enabled positioning sensors are investigated. Passive RFID sensors are used to localise passive tags that are affixed to Smart Home objects and track the movement of individuals in stationary and real-time settings. In this study, we develop an affordable passive localisation platform using inexpensive passive RFID sensors. To fillful this aim, a passive localisation framework using minimum tracking resources (RFID sensors) has been designed. A localisation prototype and localisation application that examined the affixed RFID tag on objects to evaluate our proposed locaisation framework was then developed. Localising algorithms were utilised to achieve enhanced accuracy of localising one particular passive tag which that affixed to target objects. This thesis uses a general enough approach so that it could be applied more widely to other applications in addition to Health Smart Homes. A passive RFID localising framework is designed and developed through systematic procedures. A localising platform is built to test the proposed framework, along with developing a RFID tracking application using Java programming language and further data analysis in MATLAB. This project applies localisation procedures and evaluates them experimentally. The experimental study positively confirms that our proposed localisation framework is capable of enhancing the accuracy of the location of the tracked individual. The low-cost design uses only one passive RFID target tag, one RFID reader and three to four antennas

Role of RFID in Machinal Process of Manufacturing: A Critical Review of Contemporary Literature

RFID (radio frequency identification) is a modern supply chain management technology that is increasingly being used. RFID technology's potential to identify, detect, and monitor data across the supply chain significantly influences logistics and supply chain operations. The system may provide suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers with accurate, real-time inventory information. This exact stock data would result in lower labor costs, automated company practices, and improved supply chain efficiency. If executed correctly, it may minimize the ordering wait duration and Inventory management costs, improve inventory data quality, help avoid stockouts, and enhance the frequency of stock movements. RFID technology has prompted much debate and supposition over its possible repercussions. RFID is a new technical breakthrough that enables supply chain partners to cooperate closely by providing real-time informational transparency. Mean and T-test is applied in the study to find the result of the study with 193 respondents