Evaluation of a Tracking System for Patients and Mixed Intravenous Medication Based on RFID Technology

Abstract

At present, one of the primary concerns of healthcare professionals is how to increase the safety and quality of the care that patients receive during their stay in hospital. This is particularly important in the administration of expensive and high-risk medicines with which it is fundamental to minimize the possibility of adverse events in the process of prescription-validation-preparation/dosage-dispensation-administration of intravenous mixes. This work is a detailed analysis of the evaluation, carried out by the health personnel involved in the Radiofrequency Identification (RFID) system developed in the Day Hospital and Pharmacy services of the Complejo Hospitalario Universitario A Coruña (CHUAC). The RFID system is evaluated by analyzing surveys completed by said health personnel, since their questions represent the key indicators of the patient care process (safety, cost, adequacy with the clinical practice). This work allows us to conclude, among other things, that the system tracks the patients satisfactorily and that its cost, though high, is justified in the context of the project context (use of dangerous and costly medication).

The Integration of RFID Technology into Business Settings

“…The results described as follows are based on the experience of the authors in integrating RFID technology especially into the health services area [3][4][5][6][7].…”

Tracking and Minimization of Adverse Events in the Patient Care Process while in a Hospital Emergency Service Area

“…The implemented interface which views, in real time, the location of the patient in each of the emergency service areas has an optimum design, into which the data provided by a location motor, which automatically calculates the position of a patient with greater precision by using technologies such as RFID, can be integrated. This avoids costs associated with proprietary license software supplied by hardware manufacturers for the adopted solution [6][7][8][9].…”

“…Owing to our experience in integrating RFID technology to obtain patient and medication traceability [6][7][8][9], we designed a visual interface of the location and medication of a patient while in hospital. This interface had to have the appropriate characteristics in its design to easily integrate with a location motor, for example, a location motor which calculates the whereabouts of a patient and which is controlled by identification technologies such as RFID.…”

Quality and Safety Traceability System of Aquatic Products Based on Internet of Things

“…A forewarning system of aquatic product safety is put forward in the literature [12]. Based on the comprehensive study of food safety early-warning theory and intelligence theory, a food safety intelligent early warning system is put forward [13].…”