The Health Care RFID Blog

In an article written by Stephen J. Dubner titled, “Is this the answer to Hospital-Acquired Infections?” , he mentions that it has been 10 years since first talks about the HAI (Hospital Acquired Infections) problem that the healthcare industry is now faced with and that in that ten years the problem has not gotten any better. But whose fault is it?

Many people like to place the blame on doctors, but in reality all healthcare workers should be held accountable. Trying to hold a single person and/or group accountable for something that is not tracked is impossible. Healthcare organizations need to start taking advantage of technologies that can aid in improving hand-hygiene compliance. Singling out one group, which will constantly be changing, will only be a temporary fix. Why not use technology as a tool to improve procedures?

Hospitals and other healthcare organizations should start implementing these new technologies in an effort to help change old habits and adopt new ones. Using technology to help mold a new culture within the healthcare industry would be a great start to improving the number of HAI incidents reported.

Now that the HAI problem has become visible to the public, hospitals, clinics and other healthcare organizations will need to start taking actions in an effort to improve compliance. RFID (radio frequency identification) and RTLS (real-time location systems) solutions have the ability to track compliance in real-time holding each healthcare worker accountable for themselves. Although there may be other variables involved in contracting nosocomial infections, improving hand-hygiene practices would show a significant increase in the annual improvement rate.

With the deadline quickly approaching for the implementation of electronic medical records (EMRs), one of the biggest concerns for physicians continues to be the amount of data EMRs require them to enter. Physicians, especially those who may not be particularly “tech savvy,” fear that the extensive data that will need to be entered will slow down the medical charting process.

In a recent guest blog post on KevinMD.com, Dr. Edwin Leap, an emergency physician in South Carolina, highlights frustration that both he and many other physicians are expressing about EMRs, primarily in regard to charting and improving patient care. Because EMRs offer the capability of holding so much information, beyond that of traditional charts, more data entry is required and can be time consuming if entered manually. While the industry as a whole can see the benefits of EMRs at the end of the day, if the process becomes too cumbersome, will it fail?

EMR data entry can be simplified by implementing RFID and RTLS systems alongside EMRs and creating interoperability. With RFID and RTLS working hand-in-hand with EMRs, a change or pause in work flow is not required in order to enter and share patient information, nor will it add extra duties to staff and clinicians. At Dynamic, we agree with physicians in that manual data entry is time consuming. Beyond taking valuable time away from the patients, manual data entry is expensive and prone to many of the same types of human errors found in paper records.

Another benefit to pairing the two technologies is accuracy, which is critical to EMR success. Automatic identification and data capture (AIDC) obtained through RFID solutions is accurate without requiring human intervention and seamlessly integrates with EMR systems. This addresses another concern Dr. Leap expressed in his posting, that he spends even more time confirming documentation from nurses and other staff are consistent and entered correctly.

A third benefit to using RFID and RTLS with EMRs is real-time updates. Most EMRs are accessible through Web browsers. Delivering information into the record immediately means that individual patient and facility summary data are available both through EMR systems and through the AIDC system dashboards. These executive dashboards allow clinicians to make informed decisions based upon the most current patient and facility data.

While EMRs require more information than traditional charts do, the result is better patient care if done correctly. While it still may be challenging for physicians who are not open to using the new technology, solutions are available to help make the process less tedious, allowing for doctors to be doctors and nurses to be nurses. Consider RFID and RTLS a form of a personal data capture assistant!

As healthcare reform continues to be debated, the role of health information technology continues to evolve alongside it. Hospitals are expected, now more than ever, to meet a growing list of requirements and hot button issues including compliance with various regulatory organizations and federal legislation such as HIPAA, Medicare and Medicaid; and the creation of comprehensive electronic medical records (EMR) and legal health records (LHR). Above all else, the objective on which every member of the health care community must place the most emphasis is increasing patient safety. Today’s healthcare providers are held more accountable and required to provide an environment that improves, and in no circumstance compromises, patients’ health. This, of all mandates, is the one that should not be viewed as ‘policy’…for the dedicated healthcare institution; it is the inspiration for doing what it does.

To help the healthcare industry maintain focus, on January 1 the 2010 National Patient Goals went into effect. Issued by The Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO or the Joint Commission), an independent, not-for-profit organization that accredits and certifies more than 17,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, the NPSGs were established to help accredited organizations address specific areas of concern in regards to patient safety. Half of the 2010 National Patient Safety Goals are directly applicable to healthcare organizations like yours, and those goals are as follows:

Goal 1 – Improve the accuracy of patient identification.

Goal 2 – Improve the effectiveness of communication among caregivers.

Goal 3 – Improve the safety of using medications.

Goal 7 – Reduce the risk of health care–associated infections.

Goal 8 – Accurately and completely reconcile medications across the continuum

Goal 9 – Reduce the risk of patient harm resulting from falls.

Goal 14 – Prevent health care–associated pressure ulcers

Goal 15 – The organization identifies safety risks inherent in its patient population.

Are these your organization’s goals? If so, how do you plan on achieving them? Dynamic works with healthcare providers every day to integrate RFID solutions that address several and sometimes all of JCAHO’s stated goals. We work hard to stay in front of industry issues and enlist technology partners that can help our customers address them head on – which is why we don’t feel like we need to ‘catch up’ to these goals each year. In fact, it feels a bit as though they’re catching up to us.

While EMRs have assumed a starring role in the ‘meaningful use’ conversation (and rightfully so – they could profoundly overhaul and streamline the industry), integrating additional health information technology (HIT) will be necessary to create a truly connected healthcare model. The most ‘meaningful use’ of HIT is in integrated systems, and the power of the individual solutions are most evident when used in combination with others, thus creating interoperability.  With HIT solutions that speak and respond to each other, the result can be greater accuracy, reach and effectiveness than that which any single technology could possibly achieve on its own –a classic case of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.

Interoperability is critical to making this next generation of the healthcare industry stronger, more efficient and safer for patients. At Dynamic, we all know how vital interoperability is and are excited to see the interactive demonstrations and exhibits at this year’s Interoperability Showcase that will be featured at the HIMSS10 Conference. If you are attending HIMSS this year, the Interoperability Showcase may help you envision how seemingly disparate HIT solutions can work together in harmony. The Showcase will, literally, bring to life standards-based connectivity in simulated healthcare environments. Dynamic will be exhibiting at HIMSS10 and will be showcasing a wide range of turn-key solutions incorporating RFID, RTLS, GPS and related technologies that enable real-time management of mobile personnel, assets and resources to government and commercial clients.

Our business does not operate in a vacuum; just like the connectivity being encouraged throughout an entire system, Dynamic believes in understanding the entire HIT universe in order to provide our customers informed, contextual information and guidance. Leveraging opportunities like the Showcase will help our own team better understand other solutions along the HIT continuum…after all, in a truly connected system, we may work together one day.

It’s that time when sages come out of the woodwork to take all the surprise out of the year ahead, and tell us what is going to occur. Whether in technology, health care, economics or fashion trends, you’re sure to read an article or two about what’s on the horizon for your industry or an area of interest. How often, though, are those predictions something you already know?  For the astute business leader or consumer, regardless of sector, many of these forecasts reiterate (albeit in one tidy list)  the growing body of evidence proving a ‘trend’ that they’ve already read, heard and talked about over the last 12 months.

Despite this, it is admittedly invigorating when the passionate, third-party endorsement of ‘something-to-watch’ actually validates what you already do.  Separate surveys conducted by Healthcare IT News and ABI point, respectively, to continued focus in 2010 on a truly integrated medical records system and RFID as a streamlining technology in the health care setting.  While these ideas are obviously not news, that doesn’t mean we don’t sit up and take notice when our – or our customers’ — businesses become the focal point of industry buzz.

According to Healthcare IT News survey results published in an article this month, the push under the federal stimulus package to encourage the adoption of EHRs received the most votes as the top 2009 HIT trend likely to continue to have the most impact in 2010. The push received 30 percent of the vote among a list of eight choices, with growing concern over privacy and security placing second (with 15% of the vote).

It stands to reason that if EHRs are going to be on even more tips-of-tongues in 2010 than in 2009, that the discussion around data integrity increases in volume, too. An EHR system is only as good as the quality of information that goes into it. Typical EHR protocols assume a world where end-users log on to web-based applications and type data or, in some cases, scan barcodes, then confirm and enter…all which bring ‘human’ and ‘error’ together more often than necessary, in light of RFID data collection solutions.   

So, how do we get the ‘buzz’ in 2010 focused on solutions to these challenges, rather than the challenges, themselves?

Let’s start with the Advance for Health Information Executives Dec. 14^th article that cites recent ABI research calling out three RFID ‘hot spots’ for 2010. Of these three hot spots, Dynamic has consistently been at the forefront of integrating two of them into our health care customers systems –  and they just so happen to address key driving factors in the EHR debate, improved patient care and cost savings:

·         Hot Spot 1 - Asset tracking and management: The ABI research mirrors what Dynamic knows; that RFID shows particular applicability to medical assets tracking. Using RFID technology eliminates time wasted searching for supplies and equipment, allowing nurses and doctors to focus on patients. In context of EHRs, this application of RFID can complement efforts to improve quality, safety, efficiency and care coordination within an enterprise.

·         Hot Spot 2 - Active RFID-based solutions: Active RFID, including real-time location systems (RTLS), is expected to have solid growth in a number of vertical markets, including health care, according to the research. With efficiencies and resulting cost savings central to the argument for EHRs, health care organizations should exercise due diligence and explore complementary technologies that can drive further efficiencies.  Leading edge hospitals across the nation have already saved millions of dollars in equipment and labor costs by instituting a real-time view into where and with who their precious assets are.

We don’t need 2010 trends research to tell us that EHRs will be a conversation piece in the year ahead, but it is interesting that these two independent pieces of research – when viewed side-by-side – corroborate the Dynamic RFID solutions value proposition. We take pride in helping our health care customers get in front of emerging industry issues by closely monitoring their organizations and how our RFID solutions can support their patient care and business objectives…all year long.