Did you know that RFID technology came in the same time as GPS? Well, that’s true; RFID has been with us since ages. However, the actual potential of this amazing technology was discovered recently. Currently, we can RFID technology everywhere; from FMCG to textiles, RFID is present all over the world.
But, the biggest client of RFID tracking system is healthcare. Yes, that’s true! Healthcare is the biggest and most efficient user of RFID tracking and is finding new methods to use the technology efficiently.
With RFID, hospitals were able to find solutions to several problems, like patient tracking, medication alerts, and much more. Right now, if you go in a hospital you will find RFID tags everywhere, that’s how popular this technology is in the healthcare industry.
RFID In Healthcare: Areas of Applications
Like the rest of the world, hospitals also need to upgrade themselves with the ever-changing technology, and RFID is the best answer for them. Below are some of the best applications of RFID technology that you can find in the healthcare industry.
1. Patient Tracking & Security
One of the biggest problems that hospitals still face is tracking patients, which also includes maintaining their records and every medical procedure that they have gone through. But, with RFID technology, healthcare can find an effective solution for this.
How? Well, RFID tracking system has the ability to record everything automatically. Due to this, there’s zero chances for staff members to forget or miss out on any important information of a patient.
For example, when a patient undergoes even a minor surgery, the RFID tracking system notes it down and stores the information for future purposes.
In addition to that, RFID system also stores information on medications and doses prescribed to every patient, so that nurses won’t make any mistakes related to medication or doses.
Another thing that you can get from a proper RFID tracking system is security. Well, hospitals are pretty secure, right?
We won’t say that. To be honest, there have been cases of babies being exchanged unknowingly, dementia patients leaving the hospital grounds without the staff’s knowledge, and much more.
But, with RFID tags and tracking system, we can solve this problem within seconds. Hospitals can use matching RFID tags for mothers and newborn babies so that there’s no chance of misplacement. It would also avoid kidnapping and intrusion as well. How? Well, these tags are designed to alert the hospital staff in case there’s an unwanted intrusion or movement of any newborn baby.
Patients with dementia and similar medical conditions are always at risk of leaving the hospital or losing track of their path. RFID tags can provide real-time alerts on patients’ location and condition so that immediate steps are taken.
2. Medicines & Pharmaceuticals
Hospitals must always have enough stock of important medicines and know when to order the new batch. As recording every detail of medicines manually is difficult, it’s better to automate the process.
With the help of an RFID tracking system, hospitals can get all the details on their desktop. The advanced technology informs you of the total number of medicines, categorized by name, batch number, expiry dates, and the number of patients that need them.
Moreover, RFID technology also alerts you when a particular medicine will go “out of stock” in some days so that hospitals can order it beforehand.
The role of RFID in hospitals is majorly based on keeping track of every medicine that goes in and out of the building.
3. One-time Use Essentials
When we talk about the role of RFID in healthcare, it has no limitations. One of the best examples of this would be using the said technology to track single-use essentials.
One-time usage essentials, like gloves, masks, needles, and other similar things, are used regularly in hospitals and must be restocked all the time. Moreover, there’s always the fear of using the same needle twice unknowingly, which can cause infection and other side effects.
But, we can easily avoid the above circumstances with RFID technology in healthcare. The technology can alert you when it’s time for restocking and whether the used products are disposed of properly to ensure they are not accidentally reused.
4. Managing Surgical Tools
Unlike single-time-use products, we cannot simply throw away surgical tools after the surgery is done. Tools like scalpels, scissors, and other items are used for several surgeries before disposal.
However, one of the major concerns hospitals have while reusing surgical tools is whether they are disinfected and sterilized properly. A proper RFID tracking system or software can help you avoid such circumstances.
You can easily add the “disinfecting or sterilizing” step in the process. Once the tools have undergone the part of sterilization, the system will automatically update them, and doctors can use them for another surgery. RFID is one of those technologies with which you can get creative and get solutions to all your problems.
5. Asset Tracking
It is well-known that hospitals have heavy medical equipment that is constantly shipped to different hospitals, serviced, and used for various medical procedures. Managing these heavy machines and tracking them manually is quite tedious. However, RFID technology has found its way into automating the entire process for the betterment of the healthcare industry.
The RFID asset tracking system can help hospitals easily get real-time location details on medical equipment, medicines, and important surgical items, like donor organs.
Besides, the RFID asset tracking system can also detect faulty equipment, when the machine needs servicing and send alerts to the hospital staff about the same. With the help of RFID technology, you can maintain these machines easily.
Healthcare is one of the most important industries in our society, and each and every supply chain must run smoothly in the said sector. Hospitals can provide better services and manage things easily with proper RFID solutions. If you are looking for RFID technology solutions or RFID-based products, then Sepio Products would be of great help. Contact them at hello@sepioproducts.com and get details on how you can use RFID tracking for hospitals.