HIMSS Webinar: RFID improves asset management
Whether an active real-time location system (RTLS) or passive radio frequency identification (RFID), hospital systems are utilizing wireless tracking systems to cut down on costs and track the location of devices, expired products and even who-takes-what, explained speakers during a July 12 webinar sponsored by Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS).
There is no one-size-fits-all wireless tracking solution for hospitals seeking to cut down on lost inventory.
“There are trade-offs, costs and benefits, and sometimes it’s a matter of need-to-know, versus nice-to-know,” explained Vivian Funkhouser, principal of Global Healthcare Solutions, Motorola Solutions.
For many providers, a combination of passive RFID, active RTLS, barcodes, Wifi, multiple frequencies and mobile devices may make up hospitals’ inventories and infrastructures. But while the implementation promises cost-savings in the form of well-managed assets, there can be significant upfront costs.
“It really requires a large investment to deploy an active solution,” Funkhouser said. “It’s not always the cost of the (RFID) tag that may be the detriment, it can also be the use of the infrastructure or other assets involved in increasing the price of a project.”
David Strelow, director of Cardiovascular Laboratories, St. Luke’s Health System, recently implemented a wireless tracking system at St. Luke’s to address a business goal: managing supply loss and waste.
“I know what I've bought, I know what I've used, but waste and loss are items I can’t keep track of,” he said. “Maybe a physician opened an item and decided not to use it, maybe we sent an item to another hospital, or maybe an item was opened by somebody else.”
Strelow said that if inventory systems are unreliable, he “guarantees” that staff is hoarding supplies, so that they know certain items are available and know where they are. Additionally, Strelow noted an FBI statistic claiming a trend in surgical instrument thefts. Those losses, he said, can amount to thousands of dollars.
“This business challenge isn’t ‘do you have a gap,’” he said, “but how big is it?”
Strelow said that for his hospital, each 0.1 percent loss represents $200,000. Even at 25 percent realization of that, it could equate to $50,000 in annual losses.
In 2006, Cenbion Medical worked with the hospital and conducted a full review of the supply chain process. They ended up with a solution that was “elegant and simple,” as Strelow described it.
“Each of my exits and entries has tags, so I know when products enter or leave my store rooms,” Strelow said.
Those RFID tags track supplies, bulk orders and expiration dates. Now, when a product is purchased, it’s assigned a tag, and when a staff member uses it on a patient, software now associates case identification with the tag ID.
“I recently ordered $900,000 in pacemakers and defibrillators, and my accounting wanted me to keep track of all that. RFID allows me to do it,” explained Strelow.
Harold Clampit, CEO and founder of American RFID Solutions, recently assisted with implementing a tracking system at Resurrection Health Care Group. In evaluating its system, Clampit noted tracking four Ps: people, paper, products and procedure.
“It was meant to cover a very wide range of equipment. That’s the advantage of using RFID. There are custom tags for cement, steel and plastic products and this allowed us to satisfy key concerns: ease of use and compliance with standards.”
The technology allows the hospital to work “smarter not harder,” Clampit said.
Jim Burton, system director of biomedical engineering services, Resurrection Health Care Group, noted a number of expected results: real-time access to workflow categories; paperless asset management; automated corrective maintenance activity; and eliminated missed preventative maintenances. Because the RFID tags can track when products are about to expire, or need preventative maintenance, those responsibilities are no longer accidentally forgotten.
Strelow noted that since the adoption of the system at St. Luke’s, inventory has improved and hospital staff have arrested their habit of hoarding of items. “Initially, they were hoarding, but as we proved to them that there are the correct number of products at all times, that has stopped,” he said.
There is no one-size-fits-all wireless tracking solution for hospitals seeking to cut down on lost inventory.
“There are trade-offs, costs and benefits, and sometimes it’s a matter of need-to-know, versus nice-to-know,” explained Vivian Funkhouser, principal of Global Healthcare Solutions, Motorola Solutions.
For many providers, a combination of passive RFID, active RTLS, barcodes, Wifi, multiple frequencies and mobile devices may make up hospitals’ inventories and infrastructures. But while the implementation promises cost-savings in the form of well-managed assets, there can be significant upfront costs.
“It really requires a large investment to deploy an active solution,” Funkhouser said. “It’s not always the cost of the (RFID) tag that may be the detriment, it can also be the use of the infrastructure or other assets involved in increasing the price of a project.”
David Strelow, director of Cardiovascular Laboratories, St. Luke’s Health System, recently implemented a wireless tracking system at St. Luke’s to address a business goal: managing supply loss and waste.
“I know what I've bought, I know what I've used, but waste and loss are items I can’t keep track of,” he said. “Maybe a physician opened an item and decided not to use it, maybe we sent an item to another hospital, or maybe an item was opened by somebody else.”
Strelow said that if inventory systems are unreliable, he “guarantees” that staff is hoarding supplies, so that they know certain items are available and know where they are. Additionally, Strelow noted an FBI statistic claiming a trend in surgical instrument thefts. Those losses, he said, can amount to thousands of dollars.
“This business challenge isn’t ‘do you have a gap,’” he said, “but how big is it?”
Strelow said that for his hospital, each 0.1 percent loss represents $200,000. Even at 25 percent realization of that, it could equate to $50,000 in annual losses.
In 2006, Cenbion Medical worked with the hospital and conducted a full review of the supply chain process. They ended up with a solution that was “elegant and simple,” as Strelow described it.
“Each of my exits and entries has tags, so I know when products enter or leave my store rooms,” Strelow said.
Those RFID tags track supplies, bulk orders and expiration dates. Now, when a product is purchased, it’s assigned a tag, and when a staff member uses it on a patient, software now associates case identification with the tag ID.
“I recently ordered $900,000 in pacemakers and defibrillators, and my accounting wanted me to keep track of all that. RFID allows me to do it,” explained Strelow.
Harold Clampit, CEO and founder of American RFID Solutions, recently assisted with implementing a tracking system at Resurrection Health Care Group. In evaluating its system, Clampit noted tracking four Ps: people, paper, products and procedure.
“It was meant to cover a very wide range of equipment. That’s the advantage of using RFID. There are custom tags for cement, steel and plastic products and this allowed us to satisfy key concerns: ease of use and compliance with standards.”
The technology allows the hospital to work “smarter not harder,” Clampit said.
Jim Burton, system director of biomedical engineering services, Resurrection Health Care Group, noted a number of expected results: real-time access to workflow categories; paperless asset management; automated corrective maintenance activity; and eliminated missed preventative maintenances. Because the RFID tags can track when products are about to expire, or need preventative maintenance, those responsibilities are no longer accidentally forgotten.
Strelow noted that since the adoption of the system at St. Luke’s, inventory has improved and hospital staff have arrested their habit of hoarding of items. “Initially, they were hoarding, but as we proved to them that there are the correct number of products at all times, that has stopped,” he said.