Radio-Frequency%20Identification%20(RFID)

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Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID)

• Andrew Bowdle MD, PhD
• Professor of Anesthesiology and Pharmaceutics
• Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic
  Anesthesiology

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Anesthesia information system

• Philips Compurecord
• computerized anesthesia record
• black box recorder for anesthesia
• Hospital charges for anesthesia disposables
• Pharmacy charges
• Professional billing and compliance
• Preoperative evaluation module (not currently
  funded)
• Extensive data mining capability
• Quality assurance
• Outcomes research
• OR management

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RFID

• Tags attached to people or objects provide
  automatic identification and data capture
  (AIDC) such as identification, tracking,
  security, other functions
• Think of it as wireless bar-coding
• Well established in retail supply chain
• Just starting to be used in healthcare

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RFID Tags

• Passive
• no battery
• receive energy from the reading device (induced
  in antenna)
• short range (inches to a few feet)
• small, relatively inexpensive (eg 10 cents)
• Semipassive
• battery powers internal circuitry, communication
  power comes from reading device
• longer range (10-100 feet)
• Active
• battery provides all power
• range gt100 feet
• more expensive

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Data storage in tag

• Ready only
• Write-one-read-many (WORM)
• Read/write
• Data storage capacity range from 1 bit to 512 Kb
• 1 bit simply detected or not detected
• EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable
  read-only memory) chips with 512 Kb store pages
  of information

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Tag readers

• Installed
• Mounted in doorways, notes passage of objects or
  people
• Mounted in storerooms, provide continuous
  inventory
• Network throughout building can track and locate
  people or objects anywhere
• Handheld
• Scan individual RFID tags, eg wristbands, blood
  bags, drugs

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RFID v Bar-coding

• Overlapping functions
• Bar-coding currently much cheaper
• Main advantage of RFID is wireless, remote
  capability, can function passively
• FDA currently requiring bar-coded drug labels,
  may require RFID in the future

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RFID applications

• Locate and track patients
• Identification for site of surgery and blood
  matching (wireless avoids the need to see the
  wristband)
• Identification for drug matching at point of care
• Link to automatic notification system when
  patient enters holding area, OR etc

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RFID applications

• Locate and track staff
• eg what portion of the patient in the room time
  is the surgeon in the room?
• eg how long from when the patient enters the room
  until the surgeon enters the room?
• eg how much time are the staff spending in the
  lounge?
• eg how much time are the anesthesia techs in the
  OR rooms, how much time in the workroom?
• eg is the anesthesia attending present for
  critical events?

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RFID applications

• Inventory
• Continuous readout of inventory in core,
  anesthesia workroom, holding area, PACU
• Handheld readout of anesthesia carts, machines
  for completeness of stocking

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RFID applications

• Locate and track capital assets
• Especially items that leave the OR area
• Writable devices could be updated with current
  maintenance information

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RFID applications

• Locate and track high value implantable devices

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RFID applications

• Pharmaceuticals
• Locate and track high value or very time
  sensitive drugs
• When RFID tag cost approaches that of bar codes,
  inventory, charge capture, point of care matching
  to patient
• Counterfeit protection

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What to do

• RFID technology has great potential for solving
  problems with positive ROI
• Application in hospitals is in an early phase
• Convene working group to follow developments and
  plan time and place to implement