RFID in The Hospital Setting

Radio Frequency Identification is used everywhere and usually we don’t give it a second thought. RFID offers a hands-free and secure way to keep track of assets, personnel and even parking spot availability and in the health care sector, it even helps to keep us safe.

When a newborn makes his or her first appearance in a hospital, there is suddenly a new patient to take care of. What came in as one is now two or sometimes three. It used to be that these babies were taken out of the mother’s room, cleaned up and put into a nursery to be taken care of by the staff. Times changed and nowadays those babies stay with their mother, usually right in the same room. They have to be identified though, as they are patients, and this required a wrist or ankle bracelet. Today, RFID allows these babies not only to be tagged, but also to be kept in the authorized area with the authorized personnel. The tags they wear are embedded with ‘tags’, tiny things that can be read by readers posted on all exits. Once the baby is taken past the doors, the alarm will sound. This not only keeps the babies in their rightful place but it also makes it easier to track where each baby is at any given time.

With hospitals being so large, they are always very busy places. Not only is there the staff to consider, but also the patients and the visitors or people who are waiting for these patients. Today, RFID technology makes keeping track of patients easy. Each one gets an identification bracelet that allows the staff to track their progress whether they are in the waiting area, in the ER, in the OR and even in their rooms. This is especially helpful for those patients that have a tendency to wander and helps the staff keep tabs on who is on which floor at any given time, all with a touch of a button.

Another way RFID technology is revolutionizing the hospital setting is with staff badges or wristbands that allow them, at the swipe of a reader, to access authorized places in the hospital or health care setting. This keeps out those who don’t belong and, when every second counts, it gets those needed people into the areas they need to be quickly, hands free and automatically.

RFID technology is all around us, and in our health care settings, whether they are hospitals, nursing homes or clinics. With just tags, readers and software you have created a safe environment for all.