Application of RFID Technology in Patient Tracking and Medication Traceability in Emergency Care

One of the most important factors that directly affects the quality of health care is patient safety. Minimize the occurrence of adverse events is one of the main challenges for health professionals. This requires continuous tracking of the patient by different areas and services, a process known as...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of medical systems 2012-12, Vol.36 (6), p.3983-3993
Main Authors: Martínez Pérez, María, Cabrero-Canosa, Mariano, Vizoso Hermida, José, Carrajo García, Lino, Llamas Gómez, Daniel, Vázquez González, Guillermo, Martín Herranz, Isabel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computer programs
Devices
Drug Storage - methods
Emergencies
Emergency medical care
Emergency medical services
Emergency Service, Hospital
Health Informatics
Health Sciences
Humans
Information systems
Medical errors
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original Paper
Patient Identification Systems - methods
Patient Safety
Patients
Pharmacy Service, Hospital
Radio frequency identification
Radio Frequency Identification Device
Spain
Statistics for Life Sciences
Tracking
Tracking control systems
Wireless communication
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:One of the most important factors that directly affects the quality of health care is patient safety. Minimize the occurrence of adverse events is one of the main challenges for health professionals. This requires continuous tracking of the patient by different areas and services, a process known as traceability and proper patient identification and medication prescribed. This article presents an information system for patient tracking and drugs developed for the Emergency Department of Hospital A Coruña. The systems use RFID technology to perform various tasks: (1) locate patients in different areas; (2) measure patient care times and waiting times; (3) identify unitary doses of medication; and (4) ensure the correct matching between the patient and the medication prescribed by the doctor. The hardware infrastructure as well as the optimal configuration of devices interconnected via a wireless network was determined by conducting a detailed coverage study. To support all the functionality needed, specific tools were designed and integrated with proprietary software applications. The RFID system was evaluated positively by staff from different professional profiles involved in its development or subsequent implementation.
ISSN:0148-5598
1573-689X
DOI:10.1007/s10916-012-9871-x