Veterans Affairs RFID Safety project
Hospitals have several operating rooms, and health systems can have many dozens of them. They are the chief revenue generators, and they generate the most money if the patients, surgical staff and instruments all come together at the appointed time. Delays, because the patient is wandering, or a staff person is in the cafeteria, or some of the equipment isn’t ready, can be very costly (not to mention the aggravation to all concerned). Being able to increase the surgical flow by even one per day (multiplied by many OR’s in a facility and by many days) can bring in millions of dollars of additional revenue. This piece describes how the Department of Veterans Affairs has applied a half billion dollars to installing Real Time Location Systems and Radio Frequency Identification tags to the flow processes in its 152 hospitals and seven outpatient pharmacies. MORE
Image Credit: Intelligent Insites