Gillian Ewers, vice president of marketing at electronics company PragmatIC, discusses how RFID technology can be used throughout healthcare.
The pressures facing the healthcare sector in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic are unprecedented. Despite the determination of amazing staff, the already-stretched system has found itself further challenged by the sheer scope, speed, and severity of the crisis. At this crucial time, it is more important than ever for industries to unite in developing innovations that will help the health service now and in the future.
Efficiency is key
One part of the healthcare sector that would benefit significantly from advances in technology is pathology. This is a high volume, complex and time-critical service where efficiency is key. In England there are currently 105 hospitals providing pathology services, carrying out over 1 billion tests every year, according to the Royal College of Pathologists. The logistics involved in moving, storing, and analysing these samples are complex. Every misplaced sample and late test causes problems. If we can enable pathology labs to run more efficiently there is the potential for huge financial savings and significant improvements in outcomes for patients. The challenge that faces all labs is managing their capacity, and how samples are prepared for transportation to the lab is a key factor. In the current process the primary care provider bags individual samples, adds paperwork in a second bag, then collects several samples together in a third bag. The process is reversed at the lab, manually unpacking and recording each sample, which takes time and of course there is scope for human error. Samples are sometimes not sent, can be lost, or damaged in transit, or barcodes on labels can be compromised and deemed unreadable. Re-ordering a test may then be necessary.