Applications are Patient identification, Asset and equipment tracking, Reduce inventory costs and stockouts for our

surgical units. I propose that we implement RFI for patient PA!I"#! I "#!IFI$A!I%# wrong procedure RFI tags for marking sponges used during operations and I tags for the operating team itself. It lists critical information such as allergies, precautions and special needs. &eading-edge hospitals are using RFI to tag surgical sponges, scalpels and other surgical equipment to reduce medical errors and potential law suits. !he new rules, which took effect 'uly (, require surgeons and nurses to clearly mark a patient)s surgery site and to take a documented *time out+ for a final check that it is the right patient, procedure, and operative site ,efore cutting. Patient identify -urgeon all use handheld devices equipped with RFI interrogators to identify that patient positively. !he device also displays a checklist of procedures that must ,e carried out ,efore that specific patient can progress through to the ne.t stage of the surgical process. $linicians are aware of the status of their patients and can avoid delays in patient flow caused ,y a lack of information. Information is organi/ed in status view screens for each stage of the department from registration to recovery units. %ur hospital partners are seeing that the workflow in their "mergency epartment has improved significantly with RFI tracking and see that it provides the same or greater ,enefit in -urgical -ervices. In a ,usy operating room, counts are unrelia,le, even with the most conscientious surgical staff.

A--"!- -ponges %thers are tracking high-value assets and setting up automated maintenance routines to improve operational efficiencies. &ocating hospital assets in real time. !hese systems tend to reduce the data-entry workload of nurses, and also let them spend more time caring for patients and automate the process of ,illing. !hese systems reduce the time employees spend looking for assets, improve asset utili/ation and enhance the hospitals0 a,ility to performed scheduled maintenance. %ur hospitals lose hundreds of thousands of dollars worth
of equipment each year and spend countless hours searching for patient care assets. Poor utili/ation and slow device cycle times cause many high-value assets to go underutili/ed while hospitals continue to overspend on new and rental assets. 1eanwhile, nurses sacrifice time with patients to seek equipment they need, and maintenance staff loses productive hours searching for specific items that need maintenance. !he a,ility to find assets instantaneously and improve their flow through hospital processes saves staff time and lowers capital or lease costs. R%I is immediate. -tudies indicate that up to one-third of your hospital staff time is spent searching for equipment, patients and other hospital personnel. %ur studies show that a typical hospital cannot locate (2-345 of its mo,ile assets at any given time. #ow that more patients than ever are choosing a hospital, you can now ,etter focus on the patient e.perience.

I#6"#!%R7 1A#A8"1"#!: "asy, accurate inventory counts, Reduce out-of-stock items on the sales floor, "asy location of items in ,ack room. Asset management is critical for patient safety. $onsider the consequences of nursing not a,le to find a medical device that would save a patient0s life. $onsider the consequences or nurse time spent looking from room to room for hospital assets. $onsider the frustration of your nurses and the impact on patient satisfaction. Patient identification and location assistance are often needed to ensure patient safety when urgent medical attention is needed. Patient tags with RFI chips will meet this need.

$onclusion &earn how different RFI systems can ,e used today to reduce costs and achieve improved patient outcomes. &eading-edge hospitals are using RFI to track patients, surgical sponges, scalpels and other equipment to reduce medical errors and potential law suits. 9ow patient tracking reduces la,or and improves care: 9ow to choose the right RFI technology for your needs: !aking an infrastructure approach to RFI to improve your R%I. RFI system can almost fit into wherever needs a field needs to identify, track, and manage o,;ects, 9ospitals and health-care providers are using RFI technology to track patients and high-value assets, as well as ensure patient safety, $hou says. <Patient safety is the most

important and uncompromised issue for hospitals)). !he primary goal of the RFI initiative is to improve patient care and safety. !here is a clear advantage to using RFI tags in departmetits where tracking supplies, ,eds, trays, plasma ,ags and t,ousands of other items remains a ma;or challenge for health care institutions. &eading-edge hospitals are using RFI to track patients, surgical sponges, scalpels and other equipment to reduce medical errors and potential law suits. we want to continue to show that we are a patient center care facility. nine-county region has received awards for its patient-centered care, including the 1alcolm =aldrige #ational >uality Award in 3442. RFI means time savings, improved efficiency, lower capital equipment spending, and fast return on investment. RFI tagging is the most promising approach for track and trace information. RFI applications provide significant ,enefits to ensure patient safety and improve supply chain efficiency. =y implementing RFI applications for asset tracking solutions, patient identification, patient locating, our hospital can improves our ,usiness operations ,y having the right asset or right patient, in the right place, at the right time.improved patient satisfaction and a lower per-patient cost of service delivery. $onclusion RFI is a technology solution that tracks patients, staff, asset and inventory for -urgical operation or units. $on #ow that more patients than ever are choosing a hospital, you can now ,etter focus on the patient e.perience. %ur hosiptal is center around patient care and we have won numerous of awards to account for it including. &et us continue to ,e a patient-centered facility ,y rising with new improve technologies such as RFI to enhance the overall quality of patient care. I am confidient that RFI technology fits right for our hospital espically in the surgical department. !here is also a need to enhance the overall care patients are given. And we have shown that is our num,er one concern. it easy to use,it will cut on time looking for thing which is frustrating and interupt our work flow. !he staff will love this and patient will ,e more satisfied with the quality care they are given

=enefits Real-time data on assets and goods. Improved inventory efficiency and management. Reduced la,or costs. Increased efficiency and product flow. Reduced human error. fewer errors, faster customer service and accelerated return on investment. Improvement of healthcare quality $ost reduction Increased operational efficiency Improved ,illing accuracy Rapid location of assets and personnel Increased through-put of patients. 9ospital RFI applications provide significant ,enefits Cons 9igh implementation cost. &ack of glo,ally accepted use standards. &ack of ,etter middleware. Privacy intrusion. -train in the I! infrastructure ,y overwhelming information systems as real-time scans move ,etween multiple applications PRI6A$7 I#!R?-I%# According to $hou, once a tag is used and a patient leaves the hospital, the hospital destroys the tag to protect the patient0s privacy. @ith most rising there)s always some skepticism and concern a,out privacy What is RFID Short for radio frequency identification, RFID is a dedicated short range communication (DSRC) technology. The term RFID is used to describe various technologies that use radio aves to automatically identify !eo!le or ob"ects. !he antenna ena,les the chip to transmit the identification information to a reader. !he reader converts the radio waves reflected ,ack from the RFI tag into digital information that can then ,e passed on to computers that can make use of it A simple RFI system consists of a RFI reader and a RFI tag. And, inside of each sophisticated tags there then consists of a radio transmitter and radio receiver. !his ena,les a RFI reader and a RFI tag communicates each other through a specified radio frequency. !here are three main roles a RFI reader plays other than signaling RFI tag to transmit desired information ,ack to the RFI reader. Firstly, a RFI reader has the responsi,ility of keeping RFI tags powered up. -econdly, a RFI reader demodulates incoming signals from the RFI tag down. !his process slows the incoming signals down enough so that the RFI reader is a,le to process the signals. Finally, after the incoming signals are slowed down, RFI then has the responsi,ility of decoding the incoming signals into the words people can

interpret. =oth a RFI reader and a RFI tag can ,e easily made into almost any desired shape and si/e. =ecause of the versatility, RFID middleware consists of computer hardware and data processing software that connects readers to computer systems and data repositories. It converts data from tags into tracking or identification information. It may also help filter data more effectively, and remotely monitor, control and maintain readers.
9ospitals in Illinois, #ew 'ersey, 1assachusetts and 6irginia, to name ;ust a few, have implemented RFI solutions in materials management and found great savings and even greater efficiencies. !here is a clear advantage to using RFI tags in departmetits where tracking supplies, ,eds, trays, plasma ,ags and t,ousands of other items remains a ma;or challenge for health care institutions. 8overnment studies suggest strong I! investment could cut health care costs ,y 34 percent each year, and RFI can definitely contri,ute to these health care cost reductions. !,e tags are wireless and hands-free. cited patient safety as the #o. ( reason for interest in the technology. managed inventories will

lead to improved asset use, lower rental costs. management departments can reduce the time required to manage equipment inventory. manage-ment can lead to more precise supply orders and more accurate delivery of appropriate materials to physicians and patients. RFI has ,een implemented in several ma;or hospitals around the country. !heir e.perience shows how RFI can decrease inventory loss, increase time devoted to patients and improve the accuracy of instruments required for surgeries and other treatments. =on -ecours 9ealth -ystem, Richmond,6a., installed RFI at three hospitals to track (3,444 pieces of equipment.!he health system no longer has to spend money on replacing lost equipmentAa once common pro,lemAand the nursmg staff saves B4 minutes per shift ,ecause they don0t have ro search for equipment. In total, the system reports saving C344,444 a year over the cost of installation and maintenance of RFI , not mcludmg productivity gains. !hey For these early adopters, the savings and improved patient care far outweighed the cost of RFI installation and maintenance. =y targeting how it can work in the materials management department,,ased on an analysis of ,usiness processes, it will ,ecome apparent how it could improve equipment and asset tracking, materials management, staff identification &ook for companies with a ,ackgroundin RFI deployments in an environment like yours. -urvey showed that patient safety and medical error reduction are top priorities for hospitals. ,yde,,ie murphy