Preventing HAIs with RFID
In response to H&HN’s online article Preventing Infections at the Hospital, in the October issue, I would like to discuss the critical role that health care IT, and Radio Frequency Identification in particular, can play in creating and maintaining a culture of safety.
Hand-washing campaigns in and of themselves have not been incredibly successful, as evidenced by the 50 percent compliance rate reported in Lee Ann Runy’s piece. With the help of RFID technologies, clinicians and patients can be required to wash their hands prior to treating a patient in a way that, among other things, a) encourages a culture of safety by requiring routine actions to take place in a certain order; and, b) provides a mechanism for timely reporting and accountability.
RFID has been described as an “Internet of Things,” to convey the concept of how it works. It is able to automatically identify, locate and provide very specific information about objects and people with the use of radio broadcasting technologies. Tags, which are affixed to or embedded in objects, emit a radio frequency which is picked up by strategically placed antennae/readers that transmit the information on the identity and location of the object to a database. In health care settings, it is being used to track a variety of things including inventory, assets, staff & patients, pharmaceuticals and lab specimens.
In the case of hand hygiene, Ms Runy made some very good points that I will briefly address:
1. The cost of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) soars into the BILLIONS of dollars annually.
2. Cultural barriers inhibit infection control, and lack of shared accountability impedes the adoption of a culture of safety.
3. Lack of credible and timely information continues to be a problem in addressing the issue.
4. Health care information technology has largely neglected the infection control arena.
5. Practitioners spend a great deal of time tracking and reporting metrics, rather than undertaking prevention measures.
RFID technologies can simultaneously address each of these points in a cost-effective, timely and accurate manner.
Imagine for a moment that clinicians were required wash their hands and apply hand sanitizer prior to coming into direct contact with patients to complete their purpose, whether it is medication dispensing or surgical procedures. If they did not wash their hands prior to approaching the patient’s bedside they would be warned. If they did not heed the warning their supervisor and/or quality control officer would immediately and automatically receive an email reporting the incident. This is possible now, and is just one simple example of an inexpensive application of RFID technology that could potentially save the industry billions of dollars. Let me explain how this would work.
Doctors’ badges would have an embedded tag or label affixed to them. Strategically located readers in bathrooms, at sinks, doorways and patient beds or patient wristbands would pick up the signal from the badge when within range. The range could be very close for the sinks, such that the clinician would have to actually touch the faucet in order for it to pick up the signal, while for the beds (or patient wristbands) a wider range could be set up, perhaps a 5 foot radius. A rule would be set in the system that would signal a notification of some type to be prompted if the reader near the bed/wristband picks up the signal without the ID badge first being sensed by the reader at the sink (or in the bathroom). The warning could be a flashing light, a message appearing on a monitor, or another action that is set by the system rules. A time rule could be set up to require that within one minute of the warning, the ID badge must be read by the sink reader, or an immediate report of the lapse in procedure would be sent to whomever, and would be entered into the incident reporting database, the patient’s EHR and/or any other health information system.
This is a simple example of how evidence-based, health care IT can be applied to:
1. Prevent many HAIs and the cost associated with them.
2. Foster and maintain a culture of safety with shared accountability.
3. Provide real-time, accurate information on compliance and violations.
4. Manage infection control through evidence-based practices supported by information technology.
5. Free infection control practitioners from manually tracking and reporting metrics, allowing them instead to focus on more ways to enhance safety measures.
This, again, is just one small application of RFID in health care that would yield vast results immediately upon installation. The ROI is rapidly realized through cost savings, risk reduction and improved patient care. And, once an RFID infrastructure is in place, it can be expanded to include various other areas where health care providers commonly experience “pains” that can be costly and inefficient.
Some of these pains include, medication errors, procedure errors, inefficiency of facility and equipment use, overstocking of medication and supplies, lack of visibility into patient flow processes, asset utilization and location, loss due to shrinkage, and the list goes on.
Perhaps those who make decisions about applications of IT in health care settings should reconsider the role IT can play in facilitating safe practices that result in improved patient care, reduced costs and minimized risks. All stakeholders benefit from a safer, more efficient and more economical health care system. Download PDF
For more information on Health Care RFID, contact Dynamic at www.dcc-online.com/rfid, or call toll free: 866-257-2111.
DCC provides scalable RFID solutions that meet three key health care objectives: improving patient care, reducing costs and minimizing risks. Our solutions deliver rapid ROI on your nominal investment by integrating RFID technologies with your existing systems to automate operations and eliminate error.
DCC selects the best RFID hardware, software and tags in functionality and value, for the health care environment. With no vested interest in any particular technology or brand, you can rest assured that we have the right prescription to eliminate the "pains" in health care.
Hand-washing campaigns in and of themselves have not been incredibly successful, as evidenced by the 50 percent compliance rate reported in Lee Ann Runy’s piece. With the help of RFID technologies, clinicians and patients can be required to wash their hands prior to treating a patient in a way that, among other things, a) encourages a culture of safety by requiring routine actions to take place in a certain order; and, b) provides a mechanism for timely reporting and accountability.
RFID has been described as an “Internet of Things,” to convey the concept of how it works. It is able to automatically identify, locate and provide very specific information about objects and people with the use of radio broadcasting technologies. Tags, which are affixed to or embedded in objects, emit a radio frequency which is picked up by strategically placed antennae/readers that transmit the information on the identity and location of the object to a database. In health care settings, it is being used to track a variety of things including inventory, assets, staff & patients, pharmaceuticals and lab specimens.
In the case of hand hygiene, Ms Runy made some very good points that I will briefly address:
1. The cost of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) soars into the BILLIONS of dollars annually.
2. Cultural barriers inhibit infection control, and lack of shared accountability impedes the adoption of a culture of safety.
3. Lack of credible and timely information continues to be a problem in addressing the issue.
4. Health care information technology has largely neglected the infection control arena.
5. Practitioners spend a great deal of time tracking and reporting metrics, rather than undertaking prevention measures.
RFID technologies can simultaneously address each of these points in a cost-effective, timely and accurate manner.
Imagine for a moment that clinicians were required wash their hands and apply hand sanitizer prior to coming into direct contact with patients to complete their purpose, whether it is medication dispensing or surgical procedures. If they did not wash their hands prior to approaching the patient’s bedside they would be warned. If they did not heed the warning their supervisor and/or quality control officer would immediately and automatically receive an email reporting the incident. This is possible now, and is just one simple example of an inexpensive application of RFID technology that could potentially save the industry billions of dollars. Let me explain how this would work.
Doctors’ badges would have an embedded tag or label affixed to them. Strategically located readers in bathrooms, at sinks, doorways and patient beds or patient wristbands would pick up the signal from the badge when within range. The range could be very close for the sinks, such that the clinician would have to actually touch the faucet in order for it to pick up the signal, while for the beds (or patient wristbands) a wider range could be set up, perhaps a 5 foot radius. A rule would be set in the system that would signal a notification of some type to be prompted if the reader near the bed/wristband picks up the signal without the ID badge first being sensed by the reader at the sink (or in the bathroom). The warning could be a flashing light, a message appearing on a monitor, or another action that is set by the system rules. A time rule could be set up to require that within one minute of the warning, the ID badge must be read by the sink reader, or an immediate report of the lapse in procedure would be sent to whomever, and would be entered into the incident reporting database, the patient’s EHR and/or any other health information system.
This is a simple example of how evidence-based, health care IT can be applied to:
1. Prevent many HAIs and the cost associated with them.
2. Foster and maintain a culture of safety with shared accountability.
3. Provide real-time, accurate information on compliance and violations.
4. Manage infection control through evidence-based practices supported by information technology.
5. Free infection control practitioners from manually tracking and reporting metrics, allowing them instead to focus on more ways to enhance safety measures.
This, again, is just one small application of RFID in health care that would yield vast results immediately upon installation. The ROI is rapidly realized through cost savings, risk reduction and improved patient care. And, once an RFID infrastructure is in place, it can be expanded to include various other areas where health care providers commonly experience “pains” that can be costly and inefficient.
Some of these pains include, medication errors, procedure errors, inefficiency of facility and equipment use, overstocking of medication and supplies, lack of visibility into patient flow processes, asset utilization and location, loss due to shrinkage, and the list goes on.
Perhaps those who make decisions about applications of IT in health care settings should reconsider the role IT can play in facilitating safe practices that result in improved patient care, reduced costs and minimized risks. All stakeholders benefit from a safer, more efficient and more economical health care system. Download PDF
For more information on Health Care RFID, contact Dynamic at www.dcc-online.com/rfid, or call toll free: 866-257-2111.
DCC provides scalable RFID solutions that meet three key health care objectives: improving patient care, reducing costs and minimizing risks. Our solutions deliver rapid ROI on your nominal investment by integrating RFID technologies with your existing systems to automate operations and eliminate error.
DCC selects the best RFID hardware, software and tags in functionality and value, for the health care environment. With no vested interest in any particular technology or brand, you can rest assured that we have the right prescription to eliminate the "pains" in health care.
Labels: health care IT, healthcare IT, patient tracking, RFID, rfid solutions
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