A Scottish NHS hospital is to be the first to use an
asset tracking systemusing radio frequency identification(RFID) technology to keep tabs on portable
equipment.
Carillion IT Services has been hired by Health Authority NHS
Greater Glasgow and Clyde to design and install a scalable, secure
wireless local area network (LAN) and RFID portable asset
tracking solution at The Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.
Trying to locate critical portable medical devices places a
major burden on clinical and technical staff. RFID will be used to
track defibrillators, infusion pumps and blood pressure
monitors.
The RFID wireless technology is now in place across seven wards
within the The Royal Alexandra Hospital, including accident and
emergency and medical sciences.
Following its initial successes there are plans to extend the
coverage across another seven wards of the hospital.
Small electronic tags are attached to the portable medical
devices and these send signals to the wireless network. From the
signals received the system is able to find the tag and the
portable medical device.
The hospital also aims to investigate the potential of using
mobile Wi-Fi phones with the installed wireless LAN to improve
communication between in-patient services and accident and
emergency.
Jason Britton, clinical scientist at the The Royal Alexandra
Hospital, said, "The technology that has been installed should
improve efficiency at the hospital considerably, due to reducing
the amount of time healthcare professionals will spend trying to
locate portable equipment as it is moved across different
wards.
"This time can then be used more effectively in concentrating on
patient care. Maintenance staff should also benefit from knowing
exactly where equipment is when undertaking planned
maintenance."
Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust upgrades network to improve patient
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