UK Department of Health Wants All Patients Tagged
The BBC's Caroline Parkinson reports on an RFID trial at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, where patients wear RFID-tagged wristbands that carry full information regarding the care they're receving.
"The tags mean any member of staff caring for that patient can read the tag details using a PDA to check they are treating the right person," Parkinson writes. "They can also see what checks the patient has had, or if they are ready for surgery, to ensure they get the right drugs, tests and operations via the checklist on the PDA."
Birmingham Heartlands isn't the only hospital that's using this technology — and the UK's Department of Health is now looking into ways to implement it nationwide.
According to OUT-LAW News, NO2ID's Phil Booth complains that the plan exemplifies the government's desire to "RFID everything in sight." Booth suggests that clearly printed wristbands would do the same job better, saying, "It is really great to hear we're going to be treating patients like boxes of bandages and bottles of pills…"
More here from In The News … and more here from 24dash.com.
substance abuse said:
May 10, 07 at 3:25 pmIt’s true, we do want our doctors to know how their patients are doing at all times, but assigning an electronic tag to each of them would be like turning them into some sort of guinea pigs. I personally believe that it’s an expensive and unnecessary measure at this time, when investments could be made in other sectors that lack funds.
drug and alcoholic treatment center said:
Oct 29, 07 at 6:51 amThis shows that how much hard working is the uk health department, I must say that they are doing a great job and i really appreciate their work. But don’t you think that they have to take some more affectionate steps.
alcohol rehab said:
Apr 06, 09 at 3:23 pmDo you have any data on how the RFID-tagging ultimately worked out for the hospitals? You\’re right that the technology was extremely popular for a while, but I\’d really be interested in seeing any data on the results. Specifically, do you think they would have published any data on the costs & the benefits for administration?