RFID
Sonya Collins
A March 2022 report published by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists asks readers to “imagine a pharmacy where the inventory count is always correct, it automatically increments as orders are received and decrements as orders are filled” and the impact this would have on “budget, inventory management, patient care and overall workload.”
That’s the promise of radiofrequency identification (RFID) technology, which about 40% of U.S. health systems have implemented in some way, according to the ASHP survey (apha.us/ASHP_RFID). Another 30% of survey respondents expressed interest in exploring the technology for use in their health system. Among health systems using RFID, more than three-quarters use it in the hospital pharmacy.
“The most acutely realized and quick win associated with deploying RFID is visibility of the asset that you’re tracking,” said David Aguero, PharmD, MSTL, DPLA, coauthor of the report and pharmacy informatics residency director at St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis, TN.
RFID tracks items throughout health systems
RFID is a wireless system of tags and readers. Medications, devices, equipment—even workers—in a hospital can be tagged. Tag readers that emit radio waves can then transmit data on the location of the tagged items. The technology can track the position of objects, such as medications and devices, within the networked RFID system.
Most effective uses of RFID in health systems
In addition to its use directly in health-system pharmacies, RFID aids in the pharmacy’s work in anesthesia areas, EDs, ORs, and ICUs. Within these areas, most health systems use the technology in code trays or boxes (84%), kits (65%), and anesthesia trays (57%). This use of RFID, in crash carts and kits, is among the most effective, Aguero says.
One way to realize the value of RFID, he says, is in its potential for real-time location strategy. That is, to keep track of devices and equipment throughout the hospital.
One health system, Aguero said, used RFID to track pharmacy staff through the hospital. “They used high motion analysis to see how much time clinical pharmacists were spending in patients’ rooms so that, ideally, they could get the right people in with the patients at the right time, so in this case, the asset you’re tracking is the people and the value of their time in supporting patient care.”
Though only 4% of hospitals are using RFID in this way, it represents major potential cost savings when used to track high-cost medications.
On that same note, Aguero sees a role for RFID in cold chain storage and consignment medications. The technology could help ensure that hospitals are only charged for consigned medications once they are used.
RFID’s potential does not stop at the hospital doors. Only a slim 1% of hospitals surveyed use it this way, but the technology could aid in improving adherence and reducing errors in ambulatory medication.
“There’s a vendor that tags medication bottles for [older adults who] are visually impaired, and if that person runs the medication across the puck, when it’s time to take your medication, then it tells them the medication and the dosage,” Aguero said.
To be effective, it must make life easier
As RFID holds untold promise for optimizing efficiencies in inventory and workflow management, it’s imperative that the system itself not add to or complicate existing workflows. “Any time you’re deploying technology within pharmacy practice,” Aguero said, “you have to design the right solution to be the easiest solution.” ■