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Recently
there has been lot of improvement and automation in hospital
administration; yet, hospitals feel the need to
monitor/track movements of Assets, patients, doctors,
staff, families, visitors, equipment, etc. The necessity to
identify every person accurately and the ability to extract
detailed information is always felt. This requirement can
now be successfully met by use of RFID (Radio
Frequency Identification) technology which can be
integrated into the existing systems which are used for
access control and movement monitoring. It can also be
integrated into the patient identification systems.
RFID
technology can help identify and monitor without human
intervention or time delay. It can also be deployed in
managing inventories. RFID can be used effectively in
managing blood banks, pharmacies, records/archival systems,
etc.
RFID
technology in maternity wards can provide a very effective
mother-infant security services.
Events in the recent past have accentuated the need for
this. RFID in blood banks can not only help in maintaining
an up-to-date database of availability but also help in
monitoring movement, stocking up and critical information
such as source, destination, safety information, etc.
The
scope of RFID applications in hospital management is limited
only by imagination and the
RFID technology will become a necessity in all hospitals in
the near future.
i-Diagnosis
Technologies the solution provider
The adoption of RFID technology in hospitals requires a wide
range of solutions which can integrate seamlessly into
existing hospital information systems. i-Diagnosis has and
is developing the necessary range of solutions. These
solutions can be integrated into any of the existing
systems. Hospitals can choose any combination of solutions.
Tracking/Monitoring
System
– This enables hospitals to identify and to track/monitor
doctors, staff and patients movements. Families, visitors
movements can be regulated so that they can visit only
allowed areas and as per specified timings only.
Auto response to query (including for billing)
from visitors and family members of the patients is possible
through use of RFID and kiosks.
Maternity Wards
This system is for providing safety and security for mothers
and infants in maternity wards. A unique combination of
mother and infant tags and authorized staff tags ensures
that there is no mixing up or missing/lost babies. A mother
is always kept aware of her baby’s whereabouts.
Blood Bank System
– This system enables the blood bank to monitor inventory,
replenish levels, source data, tests-done information,
storage & movement history and up-to-the-minute information
on availability. This system can also communicate with
systems outside the organization to maintain a very high
availability and visibility.
Pharmacy-
This system enable pharmacies in maintaining inventory,
identification and authentication of the drugs, expiry date
validation, variable pricing, returns management, billing
information, etc.
Advanced Document & Records Storage System
– This system enables hospitals to maintain records/archives
of case papers, patient data, images, scans, x-rays, etc in
a manner that retrieval is by the authorized person only
with ease of storage and retrieval of information.
Inventory System
– This system helps hospitals in monitoring their
inventories in a more efficient and accurate manner.
Parking-
Hospitals can manage and secure their parking lots more
effectively with this RFID –enabled parking lot management
system. This helps in providing better facilities for
doctors and staff and also makes services available to
outsiders in a more effective manner.
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What is
RFID?
An RFID system typically includes the following components:
·
Readers – which contain a radio that communicates with the
tag. In passive tags the energy from the reader is used to
communicate back. A reader can support multiple antennas.
Readers can be fixed or portable.
·
Reader/Writers – which can both read and write from and to a
tag.
·
Antennas – which are connected to readers help in
communicating with the tags.
·
Tags – or labels are small chips with antenna which
communicate with the readers on activation. The tags can be
WORM, Read Only, Read-Write. They can be read from, written
to and part of them can be locked. Tags come in a variety of
forms such as stickers, cards, capsules, buttons, etc.
In RFID system’s “read range” varies from a few centimeters
to tens of meters, depending on frequency used, whether a
tag is active or passive, and how directional the antenna is
on the interrogator.
Advantages
of RFID
An RFID system can read the information on a tag without
requiring line of sight and without the need for a
particular orientation which gives it an edge over
technologies like the bar codes. That means RFID systems can
be automated and can reduce the need for manual scanning. In
addition, RFID tags can hold much more data than any other
form. The tag can be programmed to hold information such as
an item’s serial number, color, size, date of manufacture,
disposal information, handling information and current
price, as well as a list of all distribution/transit points.
RFID technology allows the information contained on the tag
to be edited, added to or locked. These capabilities are
particularly valuable when dealing with high-value inventory
tracking and other applications when complete, up to date
information is of particular benefit.
Adoption of
RFID
RFID adoption is affected by two factors: cost and
spread/ubiquity. Advances in new manufacturing processes and
volumes has helped in bringing down the costs which are
expected to fall further for next few years. The
availability of cheaper tags and evolution of common
standards is helping in making the technology more
ubiquitous. At today’s prices for tags, it makes sense for
organizations to start investing in the technology. The time
involved in design and implementation of RFID solutions will
mean that the forward thinking organizations which invest in
RFID today will be able to enjoy a competitive advantage in
the future
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