RFID real-time positioning system helps Bon Secours Richmond Hospital save US$2 million per year
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The medical company Bon Secours Richmond Health System began to use an RFID real-time location system to manage assets five years ago, and expanded the system to track patients in the operating room a year and a half ago. According to the company’s deputy director of surgical equipment, Kathy Santini, this system It helped the company save US$2 million each year, surpassing the previously estimated annual revenue of US$1.8 million.
This income is mainly due to the sharp decrease in the number of equipment rented by the company’s four hospitals, and the decrease in equipment loss and theft. This system also saves staff time. Santini said that before the installation of this system, Bon Secours Richmond’s largest hospital-St. Mary’s-spent an average of 40 minutes searching for equipment, and St. Mary’s operating room staff had to call 300 per day. -400 times to find the equipment needed for the operation. The real-time location system provided by GE Healthcare cuts the volume of phone calls by half and almost eliminates the search time of the device.
After St. Mary’s installed this system in its operating room, the hospital reduced the preparation time for the operating room. When the last operation is over, the system informs the staff of the end of the operation in real time, and informs them to clean the operating room in time to prepare for the next operation, reducing the preparation time for the operation from 45 minutes to 20 minutes. Employees can also use this system to determine which levels have been completed during the preparation process and which have not, such as whether the operating room has been equipped with the required equipment.
Due to the successful application of this system in St. Mary’s 20 operating rooms (24 in total), Bon Secours Richmond hopes to implement this system in two other hospitals-St. Francis Medical Center and Memorial Regional Medical Center in the next few months. system. The fourth hospital, Richmond Community Hospital, does not need to use this system because it rarely performs operations. All four hospitals use the Agility system to track assets.
According to Santini, Bon Secours Richmond also plans to install patient tracking systems in emergency rooms in all hospitals over the next 18 months-a total of 850 beds.
Bon Secours Richmond’s asset tracking application includes the application of 433 MHz active RFID tags to 11,000 assets (first 303 MHz battery-powered tags were used, and later replaced by 433 MHz tags), such as IV pumps, wheelchairs and stretchers, to achieve high efficiency of the equipment manage. “Bon Secours instinctively knew that they were spending too much on assets,” Dirksmeier said, referring to rental fees, time spent searching equipment, and equipment discarded due to incorrect placement or cleaning delays.
The Asset Manager software divides the reader area into blocks, representing independent departments of the hospital, thereby helping employees determine the number of floors or the side of the assets. The activation of the system immediately helped the company save equipment search time and rental costs, so Bon Secours began to install RFID readers in all four Richmond hospitals.
In 2007, Santini began to study the expansion of this equipment to track the movement of patients in the St. Mary’s operating area, including 24 operating rooms on two floors. Since GE Healthcare also provides streamlined operations consulting, Bon Secours Richmond chose to integrate GE streamlined business operations assistance and Agility system expansion. Moreover, Dirksmeier said, GE Agility has also upgraded the Bon Secours system to add infrared functions.
When the hospital converts the 303 MHz tag into a 433 MHz tag with an embedded infrared receiver, it also installs an IR transmitter in each room so that Bon Secours can locate the tag in a specific room instead of the location of the area. The IR emitter on the ceiling of the room sends an IR signal to the tag, which returns its unique ID code and the ID code of the emitter to the RFID reader. The RFID reader is wired to the hospital back-end system, and the data received is compiled by AgileTrac.
The operating room part of this system uses AgileTrac Enterprise software to help manage employee workflows and track the movements of patients and equipment in the hospital’s pre-operating room, operating room, and recovery room. In mid-2008, St. Mary’s installed a flat-panel monitoring screen in the operating area to display the location data of the RTLS software to ensure the punctual operation of the operation and reduce waiting time. Doctors and nurses use the touch screen to notify the relevant staff of the next step of the operation. When the patient enters the rehabilitation area, the system will also automatically notify the staff so that they can immediately prepare for the next procedure.
Every inpatient at St. Mary’s is issued an RFID/IR AgileTrac tag, attached to the arm, and is accompanied by a booklet explaining how this system will track his movements in the operating room and recovery room. Once the patient entered the pre-operating room, Santini explained that the AgileTrac Asset Manager software judged the patient’s arrival and matched the ID code with his identity and medical records. The system then sends an alert to all employees who help the patient prepare for the operation. In the pre-preparation area, the staff uses the touch screen to indicate the completion of different steps.
When the patient enters the operating room, the system records this behavior. The system also records the patient coming out of the operating room, indicating that the room is now ready for the next operating room. The software also connects the patient to all the equipment used in the surgery, pointing out information that may be useful later-for example, in case there is a feeling of emotion.
Secours Richmond Healt’s employee satisfaction may be the biggest gain of this system. Santini said, “Our nurses’ satisfaction is the highest in the national survey. Employee satisfaction is very important to us. We are committed to making our employees enjoy this job. “.
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