RFID and Telemedicine

Last night I attended a BioArbor Life Science Forum event in Ann Arbor with my colleague, Ralph Wagner, on patient care and IT.

The panel, comprised of telemedicine presidents and CEOs reinforced what many in the health care industry and government are discussing -- The shortage of clinicians and steep increase in the aging population's need for health care creates a number of problems that technology has stepped in to address.

Among these:

• lack of access to care
• lack of access to specialists
• increasing need for non-peak hour doctor services
• increasing staffing need, while qualified candidates are in short supply
• RISING COSTS, RISKS and decrease in ability to meet PATIENT CARE needs

Part of the solution lies in providing technology that can monitor, diagnose and treat patients remotely. This is what dominated the conversation at the event. The use of telemedicine, remote communication via robots and off-site doctors interpreting radiology tests remotely.

Another key part of the solution is providing innovative RFID technologies to improve:

EFFICIENCY and PRODUCTIVITY.

If patient flow can be optimized, then...

fewer staff members
can use
the same resources
to care for
a greater number of patients
without increasing the demand for
equipment,
clinicians, or
funding.

In fact, many hospitals are starting to realize the benefits of RFID technologies to manage their inventory and supply chains, track assets, medications, specimens and samples, monitor patients and staff, as well as other medical applications.

RFID and telemedicine applications can work hand in hand to address the growing need for quality health care with lower costs and fewer risks.

Dynamic Computer Corporation provides innovative RFID solutions for the health care environment in areas that traditionally cause the most "pain" points. The solutions, for:

1. Asset Tracking & Maintenance
2. Inventory Management
3. Patient & Staff Tracking
4. Medication Tracking
5. Lab & Sample Tracking

For information on how these solutions can help enhance your health care facility's processes using RFID, contact our lead RFID Systems Integrator, Ralph Wagner, at 866-257-2111.

RFID in Health Care

Today, I intended to get the second part of my Obama-nalysis on health care IT, but was busy managing multiple other projects. There is plenty of information in the news today both in opinion and editorial content to support the points I made yesterday.

As far as the doubts as to whether Obama's plan will work:

Those who have commented seem to be making an assertion based on opinions that premiums won’t be lowered if more technology is adopted. You can't exactly draw a straight line from using technology to lower premiums but the rationale goes something like this:

If healthcare insurance premiums are based on an algorithm calculating the cost of care vs the risk or potential for care then lowering the cost of care should lower premiums. The question is whether the cost savings are picked up by the hospitals or the patients/insurance companies?

The skeptics seem to be arguing that the hospital absorbs the cost savings and does not pass it on, but even if this is true -- which I'm not sure it will be -- there are still many benefits to patients and insurance companies through the utilization of health care IT. They can't really argue that the latter point isn't a fact. Simply read my other posting, or those of any health care IT writer or researcher to see the hard facts.

To learn more about utilizing RFID in Health Care to:

• Improve Patient Care
  
• Reduce Costs
  
• Minimize Risks

through:

• Asset Tracking
  
• Inventory Managment
  
• Patient & Staff Tracking
  
• Medication Tracking
  
• Lab & Sample Tracking

Contact Dynamic Computer Corporation at 866-257-2111 or info@dcc-online.com.

President Obama, Health Care and RFID

Now that the voters have selected Barack Obama to be the next president, we can expect him to move forward with his health plan after inauguration. What could that mean for the health care IT industry? What does RFID have to offer to help improve health care and America’s hospitals in this age of cuts, and more cuts to funding, resources and increased demand? I have a few thoughts on the subject…

One of the ways Obama has posited that he will reduce the costs of health care by $2500 per year per family, is to provide health care IT subsidy[1]. This is an excellent opportunity for health care providers to implement and RFID solution to improve patient care, reduce costs and minimize risks. Through the visibility RFID offers, health care facilities can innovatively create more efficient and productive operations with a mechanism for accountability.

Tomorrow’s blog posting will talk in more detail about how RFID will help improve the health care system, and specifically answer the concerns that some skeptics have about the detrimental effects of Obama’s health plan (as it relates to health care IT in particular) on hospital’s finances.

Real-time visibility of assets and transparency of processes will enable an economical advantage that will save money and make money across the board. At the same time, customer service will improve, satisfaction of patients, staff and physicians will improve, errors will be reduced and many other advantages will be realized.

Asset tracking and management, inventory management, patient and staff tracking, medication tracking and lab & sample tracking are they key areas where RFID will revolutionize health care practices.

Contact Dynamic at 866-257-5111 if you would like to learn more about the benefits of a scalable RFID solution from DCC. RFID demo tours are available and our knowledgeable staff will help you calculate the ROI for your particular application.

[1] Obama's plan would also reduce costs by managing disease, federalizing certain health claims and stimulating competition in the industry.

(Photo digitally altered. Downloaded from BarackObama.com)

Response: Report on infection-control plan still in works

In response to Report on infection-control plan still in works, Posted on November 3, 2008 in Modern Healthcare:

One of the initiatives of the groups should be to assess and recommend health care IT best practices that positively impact infection-control plan compliance. Results from those who have utilized technology creatively to foster safe practices show that it works.

As noted recently in a H&HN article, handwashing campaigns are largely ineffective as compliance rates are still only about 50 percent. Surveillance methods are necessary to address the problem.

Hospital executives and infection control practitioners should consider IT solutions to foster a culture of safety. RFID solutions in particular have demonstrated the ability to improve patient safety by tracking and visibility into realtime compliance with adopted policies and procures. Additionally, it puts a uniform mechanism in place for shared accountability and transparency.

The ROI is apparent in this type of technology, as the cost of HAIs surpasses 5 billion dollars annually. A simple, but effective, RFID solution can start as low as $15,000 and yield immediate results through improved patient safety, reduction in costs and minimization of risks.

RFID also offers the added benefit of interoperability with currently used systems and infrastructure, from enhancing bar-coding systems already in place to automatic notifications, billing and updates to EHRs and other patient information systems that bridge communication across the continuum of care.

Another added value of RFID for this purpose is that it is easily scalable and adaptable for other tracking purposes -- like inventory management, asset tracking, medication tracking and lab & sample tracking.

HHS should evaluate RFID more closely for recommendation, as the benefits will trickle down as well as up -- improving satisfaction rates of patients and staff, as well as reducing HAIs and ADEs which cost gov't billions of dollars.

We have to start thinking innovatively about how to approach age-old problems like infection control with evidence-based practices supported by healthcare IT.

Download PDF on Preventing HAIs with RFID

DCC provides RFID solutions for health care together with Change Management Support (CMS) to facilitate education, communication and transparency throughout the RFID adoption process.Our scalable RFID solutions improve patient care, reduce costs, minimize risks and are interoperable with your existing systems.