Less Can Be More When It Comes to RFID Tags
A recent article in the RFID Journal1 shared how radio frequency identification has played a significant role in contributing to the healthcare industry’s wellbeing. A number of hospitals and pharmacies have reported that RFID has led to significant cost savings, higher productivity, better performance and profits.
As with all technology, “little” improvements have the power to send major shockwaves, which is exactly what happened when MEPS Real-Time created the smallest RFID Smart Tag in the healthcare industry.
According to Geoffrey Moore2, the author of two best-selling books that explain how new technologies become ubiquitous; an essential component for widespread adoption is the ability of that technology to solve a business problem that no other technology can solve.
Enter, the Intelliguard® Kit and Tray Management System RFID Smart Tag…
The Challenge for Medication Inventory Management
One of the reoccurring issues clinicians and pharmacy professionals face is the limited amount of space they have for managing meds in procedural areas. Regardless of whether they use kits, trays, tackle boxes, emergency transport bags or fanny packs - anything that impedes workflow is likely to be rejected.
Anesthesiologists in particular play a powerful role in the hospital ecosystem and can be very resistant when it comes to anything that impacts their purview – and anesthesia medication kits and trays certainly fall into that category.
First generation RFID tags used to automate medication kit and tray inventory management and replenishment were bulky and could therefore hamper opening and closing anesthesia cart storage drawers and carrying cases properly. Worst of all, these tags can be so big they can obscure manufacturer labels, which has the potential to create a costly safety and/or regulatory scenario.
RFID Tag Size Matters
“Everyone loves the automation and security of RFID, but tag size in pharmacy use cases presents some logistic challenges,” said Paul Elizondo, Vice President of Research and Development at MEPS®.
“Bulky tags are an annoyance that keep customers from getting all that RFID technology has to offer. That’s why we decided to develop a unique RF-enabled workstation (scanning enclosure) for our Intelliguard®Kit and Tray Management System that is capable of accurately and repeatedly identifying small UHF RFID tags.”
The RFID Smart Tag that MEPS® selected is the smallest smart tag in the industry; it’s 65 percent smaller than competitor tags with similar functionality.
To facilitate these small RFID Smart Tags, MEPS® integrated and brought to production two patented and exclusive Dynamic Sensor Module™ (DSM) antenna solutions to increase read rates and reliability of RFID systems specifically to address medical applications. This patented and exclusive intellectual property allow us to integrate antenna systems into challenging environments.
>> See MEPS® Patents
Response to the tiny tags has been anything but small:
“The Intelliguard small RFID tags are amazing. They don’t block the med labels or impede the drawers in our anesthesia carts from closing properly. Our anesthesiologists don’t even notice them – all they notice is that they always have a full stocked tray in the operating room, which is exactly the point,” said Chris Abe, Senior Director of Ancillary Services at Rady Children’s Hospitals.
"The real exciting piece of this," she says, "is that we'll be able to go back to anesthesiologists, who are very engaged in this process, and share with them such data as which medications are being used most frequently as well as which drugs might not be used at all.”
Space-Saving Efficiency and Industry-Leading Safety
The Intelliguard® RFID Smart Tag offers hospital pharmacies a wealth of benefits including 100% accurate read rates when combined with the Intelliguard® Kit and Tray Management System and the industry’s safest RFID tagging protocol. The MEPS® Smart Tag Processing™ method does not require relabeling of medications.
>> See Patient safety driving increased RFID use in hospitals
The 65% smaller size and our transparent “flag” adhesive method also means it works well for all sizes of medication packaging without impeding the FDA-approved medication label.
It’s a fit for even the smallest ampules and vials and best of all, works for all medication packaging - from syringes, ampules and vials, to boxes, IV bags and foil-wrapped packaging.
Most hospitals look to technology to help them improve operations and increase safety and efficiency: the Intelliguard® RFID Smart Tag combined with the Intelliguard® Kit and Tray Management System accomplishes all three objectives in one little powerful package.
Less is so much more when it comes to RFID tags!
Source for 1 & 2: https://www.rfidjournal.com/purchaseaccess?type=Article&id=12910&r=%2Farticles%2Fview%3F12910
MEPS Real-Time® is a charter member of RAIN RFID global alliance promoting the universal adoption of UHF RFID technology. For more information, visit their website at www.rainrfid.org.
