1,604 research outputs found
Accessing Antecedents and Outcomes of RFID Implementation in Health Care
This research first conceptualizes, develops, and validates four constructs for studying RFID in health care, including Drivers (Internal and External), Implementation Level (Clinical Focus and Administrative Focus), Barriers (Cost Issues, Lack of Understanding, Technical Issues, and Privacy and Security Concerns), and Benefits (Patient Care, Productivity, Security and Safety, Asset Management, and Communication). Data for the study were collected from 88 health care organizations and the measurement scales were validated using structural equation modeling. Second, a framework is developed to discuss the causal relationships among the above mentioned constructs. It is found that Internal Drivers are positively related to Implementation Level, which in turn is positively related to Benefits and Performance. In addition, Barriers are found to be positively related to Implementation Level, which is in contrast to the originally proposed negative relationship. The research also compares perception differences regarding RFID implementation among the non-implementers, future implementers, and current implementers of RFID. It is found that both future implementers and current implementers consider RFID barriers to be lower and benefits to be higher compared to the non-implementers. This paper ends with our research implications, limitations and future research
Estimating Potential Infection Transmission Routes in Hospital Wards Using Wearable Proximity Sensors
Contacts between patients, patients and health care workers (HCWs) and among
HCWs represent one of the important routes of transmission of hospital-acquired
infections (HAI). A detailed description and quantification of contacts in
hospitals provides key information for HAIs epidemiology and for the design and
validation of control measures. We used wearable sensors to detect close-range
interactions ("contacts") between individuals in the geriatric unit of a
university hospital. Contact events were measured with a spatial resolution of
about 1.5 meters and a temporal resolution of 20 seconds. The study included 46
HCWs and 29 patients and lasted for 4 days and 4 nights. 14037 contacts were
recorded. The number and duration of contacts varied between mornings,
afternoons and nights, and contact matrices describing the mixing patterns
between HCW and patients were built for each time period. Contact patterns were
qualitatively similar from one day to the next. 38% of the contacts occurred
between pairs of HCWs and 6 HCWs accounted for 42% of all the contacts
including at least one patient, suggesting a population of individuals who
could potentially act as super-spreaders. Wearable sensors represent a novel
tool for the measurement of contact patterns in hospitals. The collected data
provides information on important aspects that impact the spreading patterns of
infectious diseases, such as the strong heterogeneity of contact numbers and
durations across individuals, the variability in the number of contacts during
a day, and the fraction of repeated contacts across days. This variability is
associated with a marked statistical stability of contact and mixing patterns
across days. Our results highlight the need for such measurement efforts in
order to correctly inform mathematical models of HAIs and use them to inform
the design and evaluation of prevention strategies
RFID in Healthcare: A Six Sigma DMAIC and Simulation Case Study
Develop a business model to generate quantitative evidence of the benefits of implementing Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology limiting the scope to outpatient surgical processes in hospitals. Analysis showed significant estimated annual cost and time savings in carrying out patients’ surgical procedures with RFID technology implementation for the outpatient surgery processes in a hospital. This is largely due to elimination of both the non-value added activities of locating supplies and equipment and also the elimination of the “return” loop created by preventable post-operative infections. Several poka-yokes developed using RFID technology were identified to eliminate those two issues, as well as, for improving the safety of the patient and cost effectiveness of the operation to ensure the success of the outpatient surgical process. Several poka-yokes developed using RFID technology were identified for improving the safety of the patient and cost effectiveness of the operation to ensure the success of the outpatient surgical process
Improving Reliability of Medical Device Tracking Using Unique Device Identification
The term “disruptive innovation” has been the buzzword of industries looking to create technological advancements in their respective fields ever since the term was first coined in 1995. In order to invest in the future of the industry, companies are beginning to focus on new, innovative ideas that come into the market as a low-cost alternative to the sustaining innovations currently in place. Similar business-models can be seen in the healthcare industry, as physicians look to disruptive innovations to provide methods of diagnosis and treatment that are easier to perform and maintain. Companies, from medical device manufacturers to the hospitals using these devices, are now working to comply with the Federal Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007’s requirements of Unique Device Identifiers on all equipment – a new, standardized identification system to ensure all necessary information about a device is provided. This honors thesis analyzes the recent history of disruptive innovations, in all industries and specifically healthcare, and the emergence and benefits of Unique Device Identification. Modeling of the implementation of Unique Device Identifiers in an industrial setting resulted in a 16.55% time improvement of the affected phases of the recall process, preventing 30 fatalities. When a benefit-cost analysis was performed – comparing the value of a human life to the cost of UDI implementation – the benefit of implementation outweighed the costs by 277%.
Keywords:
Disruptive Innovation; Healthcare; Transportation; Reliability; Medical Devices; Real-Time Location Systems; FDAAA; Unique Device Identification; Agent Based Modelin
Feasibility study of a novel wireless localization technique using radiofrequency identification markers for small and deeply located lung lesions
Objectives: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a novel wireless localization technique that uses radiofrequency identification markers for small and deep lung lesions. Methods: Preliminary use of the device was retrospectively evaluated in 2 Japanese centers. Under general anesthesia, a marker was placed as close as possible to the tumor via computed tomography-guided bronchoscopy in a hybrid operation theater. Surgeons located the marker without lung palpation using a detection probe the tone of which changed to indicate the marker-probe distance. Efficacy was defined as functional marker placement (bronchoscopy time and marker position) and deep margin distance. Results: Twelve markers were placed for 11 lesions (mean size, 6.8 ± 2.7 mm) located at a mean depth from the pleura of 11.4 ± 8.4 mm (range = 0-26.0 mm). Of 12 markers, 7 markers (58.3%) were placed within 10 mm from the lesion in 25.5 ± 14.4 minutes. For the 11 wedge resections, markers were placed at a mean distance of 6.7 mm (range, 0-13.0 mm) from the lesion and a mean distance of 14.4 mm (range, 3.0-42.0 mm) from the pleura. All markers were recovered without complications, and all tumors were resected with negative margins. For 5 lesions >10 mm deep to the pleura (mean depth, 18.9 ± 5.5 mm; range, 11.0-26.0 mm), the median depth of the surgical margin was 11.6 ± 2.1 mm (range, 9.0-14.0 mm). Conclusions: Radiofrequency identification marking was safe and precisely localized small lung lesions, including their depth
Modeling the Impact of RFID Technology on the Healthcare Supply Chain
Due to increasing competition in the healthcare industry, healthcare providers must find ways to reduce their costs of operation or potentially lose customers to more affordable options. For many years, the healthcare supply chain has significantly lagged behind the retail supply chain in terms of supply chain efficiency. Certain disruptive technologies that have become widespread in the retail supply chain have yet to be integrated by a significant number of healthcare providers, and as a result, there are large opportunities for improvements in the healthcare supply chain that could lead to both cost and time savings. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is a disruptive technology in the retail supply chain that utilizes readers to automatically identify and track tags attached to objects. This paper leverages modeling and simulation techniques to explore the impact that RFID technology could have on the healthcare supply chain.
Keywords
Healthcare Supply Chain, Retail Supply Chain, Disruptive Technology, RFID Technology, Simulation, Modelin
Logistics Projects: How to Assess the Right System? The Case of RFID Solutions in Healthcare
RFID is very promising for the healthcare industry. However, RFID solutions and contexts of use vary a lot from one place to another and as a consequence its impact on performance can vary as well. Moreover, it can be complex to assess its potential benefits relatively to other solutions before its implementation. We analyze a real project which gathers 18 partners working together to implement RFID solutions and/or datamatrix in health related processes in hospitals. We show the complexity of assessing such a project: diversity of the domains involved, interdependencies between them and impact of representation of the project on its assessment. Instead of providing an evaluation tool ready to use, we suggest a meta-evaluation tool which determines what the appropriate scope and abstraction level are to represent and grasp what has to be assessed. Practitioners could then use it to design their own customized evaluation tool on the field
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