Einstein Hospital uses RFID to realize real-time positioning and tracking system and temperature monitoring of refrigerators and freezers
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Albert Einstein Hospital (hereinafter referred to as Einstein Hospital), located in Sao Paulo, Brazil, is a private hospital with seven medical facilities, approximately 700 beds, and 86,000 square meters. As a high-end hospital, it has invested a lot of manpower and material resources in technology to strengthen safety, convenience and high-quality services, and it is known as one of the most advanced and reputable hospitals in South America.
Einstein Hospital not only complies with the relevant standards and regulations of JCI (Joint Commission for the Accreditation of International Medical and Health Institutions) and ANVISA (Brazilian National Health Inspection Agency), and has been active with the basic concept of “realizing business efficiency and speed”. Explore and improve business processes. The installation of a real-time positioning system makes it possible to use the most advanced science and technology to provide the most advanced, innovative and humane medical services.
Many medical devices in the hospital flow in the hospital according to the treatment and the patient’s condition. Therefore, equipment management consumes a lot of time and energy. Previously, the Einstein Hospital adopted manual management methods. The staff regularly patrolled and checked the hospital, visually confirmed the number and location of the equipment, and made different records and archives according to the time.
The hospital also has a large number of different types of refrigerators and freezers that store blood, pharmaceutical materials, and tissue samples. Depending on the type, strict temperature control is also required. In the past, the manual method was mainly adopted, and the staff regularly patrolled and inspected various cooling equipment, measured and monitored the temperature.
In the past, these tasks were part of the duties of medical staff. Later, the hospital decided to adopt automated management to further improve the hospital’s service quality.
process
Introducing RFID technology using Wi-Fi while constructing a wireless network in the hospital
In September 2009, Einstein Hospital began a comprehensive upgrade of its network infrastructure and built a Wi-Fi wireless local area network covering the entire hospital. The hospital originally had a long-term plan to realize the positioning and management of personnel and equipment through the wireless LAN environment, RFID and sensors. As the first step, they began to discuss the location tracking management of medical equipment and the temperature monitoring automation of refrigerators/freezers, and finally chose NEC’s location tracking management solution.
Our hospital is not only large, but also many buildings. Therefore, how to provide medical services more efficiently requires a complex process. Therefore, its solutions need to have integrated equipment, network monitoring, and data exchange systems with comprehensive integrated processing capabilities. In order to develop such a solution, we must look for a partner who has expertise in data network construction, asset management and monitoring, and has extensive experience and performance in integration. NEC fully met our conditions. Advanced technology, rich experience, and obvious performance, needless to say, the real decisive factor is their high-quality business support. (Mr. Arai explains)
System Overview
Realize real-time positioning and tracking of medical devices and temperature monitoring of refrigerators and freezers through RFID
The real-time location and tracking system collects and installs Wi-Fi active RFID tags through the access points in the hospital, and transmits data from about 600 medical equipment including infusion pumps, portable scanners, ventilators, wheelchairs, etc., and transmits them via wireless LAN Go to the server for storage and management.
The hospital staff can visually confirm the specific location of the medical equipment shown in the hospital location map on the computer screen. In addition to the positioning of the equipment, you can also confirm the usage (such as in use or cleaning) and maintenance information (such as the date of introduction and maintenance), realizing a full range of asset management.
The temperature monitoring system realizes the automation of measurement and monitoring by installing RFID tags with built-in temperature sensors in the refrigerators and freezers of the hospital. Because it shares antennas, wireless LANs, and servers with the real-time positioning and tracking system, if any abnormalities (such as temperature abnormalities) occur, the system will send an instant alert to the administrator so that remedial measures can be taken quickly.
Freezer with built-in temperature sensor RFID tag
The system displays the specific location of the medical device (red: the classification of the medical device; black: the location of the medical device)
Visually confirm the location of the device
Results and future prospects
Optimize the services of medical staff and reduce costs Provide advanced medical services that meet international standards
The real-time positioning system is the most outstanding solution that realizes the flow management of medical equipment and other items. Grasp the location and status of the equipment in real time, and notify the administrator whether the equipment can be used, cleaned, or maintained through the wireless LAN. By realizing this kind of real-time monitoring of medical equipment, you can grasp the exact location of the equipment at a glance without relying on manual recording. Therefore, medical staff can now conduct more efficient management and have more time to focus on their main business.
The location tracking device has contributed to the control and improvement of internal processes. Maintaining the balance of human resources and rationally deploying staff according to the importance of daily business not only successfully optimizes the business of medical staff, but also improves the efficiency of equipment use. According to the prediction of the hospital, the cost will be reduced accordingly. It enables the hospital to provide higher-end and more advanced medical services, and fully meets the JCI (Joint Commission for the Accreditation of International Medical and Health Institutions) and other international standards.
“Our greatest achievement is to improve the efficiency of medical equipment asset managers.” Mr. Arai commented. “Medical equipment is essential in the treatment process. There is no need to spend time searching for equipment, thus creating a better medical environment, so that we can provide our patients with a higher level of service.”
“In addition, refrigerators and freezers are vital equipment when providing treatment services for patients. In response to extreme situations such as sudden increases in demand, we strictly carry out inventory management of blood, body tissues, breast milk and medicines. In some cases, these will become invaluable. So strict temperature control and strict inventory management are required. Establishing a monitoring system that meets these needs at the same time will greatly help improve the credibility of the hospital.” Mr. Arai continued.
“Of course, this system construction is only the first step to improve the overall efficiency of the hospital.”
“By building a real-time positioning system and a temperature monitoring system, we have laid the foundation for a comprehensive location management system. In the future, we will implement RFID solutions for patient management and staff attendance management to realize the positioning management of medical staff and patients , In order to promote the rationalization of staffing and the optimization of operation management.
For example, patients must move around the hospital during diagnosis, examination, and payment. If RFID is used, the progress and location data of the treatment needed by the patient can be grasped, thereby reducing waiting time and providing better services. At the same time, grasping the attendance and location information of medical staff can quickly deploy staff and further optimize and manage human resources. In addition, we are considering the use of RFID in facility movement and personnel access management, which will improve the safety indicators in the hospital and create a safer and more secure medical environment. In addition, in order to further promote the maintenance of medical equipment and the automation of inventory management, we are considering integrating ERP. By sharing asset management-related information such as equipment maintenance plans with the real-time positioning system, more timely and efficient management can be achieved. “
As mentioned earlier, this system construction is only the first step to improve business with RFID. We are looking forward to further expanding the system, improving work efficiency and reducing costs in the future.
NEC staff evaluation:
NEC Brazil Branch Solution Division Marcelo Diaz Fernandez
NEC Brazil Branch, as the leading supplier of network construction and RFID solutions, has participated in the construction of various systems and accumulated rich experience. In this system construction, we propose to use Wi-Fi active tags in consideration of the integration with the wireless LAN infrastructure invested in the early stage.
To this end, we have built a hospital network that collects RFID tag data through wireless local area networks, a real-time positioning system that manages the inventory and location tracking of medical equipment, and a temperature monitoring system for refrigerators/freezers.
This project is considered to be the most advanced and creative attempt in Brazil, and even Latin America, and therefore requires high equipment and technology. It needs to integrate temperature sensors, medical equipment positioning tracking, positioning monitoring and other systems into the same platform, and efficiently manage and meet the needs of multiple floors and multiple facilities at the same time.
Einstein Hospital has stored temperature management records in written form for more than five years. However, in order to handle complex and larger data, it is necessary to build a new system. Especially blood requires stricter temperature control and more precise management.
In terms of specific implementation, not only hospitals and NEC, but also our RFID partner AeroScout company participated. Through the information sharing and sincere cooperation of the three parties, the system was finally put into operation in September 2009.
Thiago Solon Creto, Account Manager, Corporate Legal Person Department, NEC Brazil Branch
We believe that our customers understand and value our expertise and technical integration capabilities. They know that we will fully understand customer needs and propose the most suitable solution, and the process is highly appreciated by customers. No matter what the customer’s situation is, NEC will provide strong support. We are confident to maintain a trusting relationship with our customers and fulfill our promises.
In the future, we will continue to use our accumulated experience and achievements over the years to provide the most effective solutions to customers who have the same goal of improving customer satisfaction as Einstein Hospital.
As a pioneer of real-time positioning systems, NEC will continue to actively promote real-time positioning management, asset management and temperature monitoring systems using RFID technology in industries such as medical and manufacturing industries around the world.
Nowadays, the real-time positioning system is not only used in medical treatment, but also in other dangerous areas such as nuclear power plants, factories and production bases, the expectation of using this technology is also rising. NEC has the technology and experience that is most suitable for network construction and data collection and filtering of real-time location management systems. We can and hope to provide customers with RFID solutions with higher added value.
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