| Rafi Pilosoph at Image ID asks what harm a lack of traceability can have on the healthcare industry
High cost medical supplies get lost or misplaced all too often, costing the tax payer millions of pounds. Counterfeit pharmaceuticals are increasingly cropping up in the supply chain, chipping away at manufacturers’ brand status and profits and, even worse, potentially putting consumers at risk. And even with the greatest caution and attention to detail, random clerical errors can result in patients being subjected to the wrong medical procedures.
For obvious reasons, traceability in the healthcare industry is no longer an option; it is a must, governed by regulation. For instance, the Blood Safety and Quality regulation number 50 – made under Section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 and transposed into two EU directives and UK law – requires that hospital transfusion laboratories maintain the data needed to ensure full traceability of blood and blood components for a period of no less than 30 years. However, while regulators are quick to demand that medical supplies, hospital beds and, no less importantly, patients be traced throughout the healthcare system, they only dictate the kind of information that needs be collected and traced, not necessarily the particular traceability systems that should be used to achieve this goal.
The question is, therefore, no longer whether to trace or not, but which traceability solution should be applied. The chief information officer’s task of selecting a traceability solution that best answers their organisation’s particular needs is not an easy one. A large number of options are available and, to complicate matters further, their effectiveness in addressing different traceability challenges varies greatly.
At the heart of each traceability solution is data capture technology. It is usually the case that no single technology can address all requirements perfectly. This article will outline the various healthcare applications that call for deployment of traceability solutions. It will also review the key data capture technology selection criteria, whilst introducing a unique and innovative approach to implementing traceability solutions that offers distinct advantages over traditional methods.
HEALTH INDUSTRY TRACEABILITY APPLICATIONS
Asset Tracking
All healthcare facilities have one thing in common – valuable assets, like hospital beds, medical equipment, wheelchairs and scanning devices, among others. Losing track of any of these will cost a medical facility anything from hundreds to millions of pounds. According to the US Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the primary reason for emergency department diversion is lack of critical care, medical and surgical beds |
