Radio frequency system: Tracking lost records
Radio frequency system: Tracking lost records
Computer-based patient record is a decade away
A typical medical records department wastes countless hours each day tracking down patient records, a frustrating yet never ending part of managing health information. But what if there was a way to find those errant patient records at the touch of a few buttons?
Now there is. HeadWater Systems in Minneapolis has developed a radio frequency locator system called the Retriever that tracks medical records using radio frequency emitters attached to patient records. Strategically placed receivers installed in ceilings throughout the hospital pick up the signals emitted by the tags, which are smaller than the size of a computer diskette, and transmit the location data to a computer system over AC power lines.
The Retriever system can be used to locate medical records, durable medical equipment, X-rays - or even patients, says John Payne, vice president of HeadWater Systems. "What we found with records is people think they are one place and they are actually somewhere else. Or the medical records [staff] think they have them, and they don't."
A tagged patient file can be located by logging on to any of the system's networked PCs or by using any touchtone telephone. Once you've logged on to any of the WAN-linked computer terminals or punched the touchtone phone number, you're asked to key in patient information - either the patient ID number or name and date of birth.
When activated, "The system responds with something such as, `As of 12:35 p.m. on March 1, it's in West 4, or the doctors' lounge, or it is back in medical records,'" Payne explains.
The locator system can be as broad or as specific as you want, he says, directing you to a wing of the hospital or a specific room, such as the doctors' lounge. The more specific you want to be, the more receivers must be installed.
How does the system work?
To track medical records, a small radio frequency transmitter is keyed to the ID number of a file that is about to leave the medical records department. The emitter is then attached to the record. A plastic pouch can be attached to the folder to prevent it from falling out.
As the record circulates, the emitter transmits a radio frequency signal to receivers installed in ceilings throughout the hospital. Each receiver can be programmed to pick up signals from 10 to 1,000 feet away.
A receiver can be placed in any ceiling and plugged into any 110-volt electrical outlet. Existing AC electrical wiring serves as the conduit between the receivers and the central file server. When a tagged record passes within range of a receiver, the receiver collects and stores the emitter's ID number along with the date and time of the reception. The file server periodically collects and processes the accumulated receiver data to compute the location of tagged files.
If you're already using or plan to launch a computer-based patient record, you may wonder about the efficacy of purchasing a new gadget for tracking paper-based medical records. With budgets pared to the bone, spending money on distinctly low-tech paper systems in an increasingly high-tech world may not seem like the best use of resources.
But the reality is that the universal computer-based patient record is still some years away, Payne says. "It's probably 10 years away. The [high] cost of the computerized patient record is an issue still." Currently, only about 3% of U.S. hospitals have a fully deployed computerized patient record. There will always be some amount of patient information stored on paper, he adds, so a system that tracks such information is not headed for obsolescence. "I don't think the paper record is ever going to go away."
For a 300-bed general hospital, the price tag for the Retriever system can be as much as $175,000 to start up and maintain. That includes the cost of transmitters, which cost about $20 apiece and must be returned to HeadWater for recharging. A 300-bed hospital might be expected to order 3,000 tags, Payne estimates. The price tag also includes an estimated $10,000 to have AC power lines installed - though that cost can vary greatly across the country. In addition, each receiver installed above the ceiling costs about $600.
After beta testing the system in a small Minnesota hospital beginning in July 1996, HeadWater plans to roll it out in two hospitals this year: Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and North Suburban Clinic in Skokie, IL.
John Payne, Vice President, HeadWater Systems, 10911 West Highway 55, Suite 204, Minneapolis, MN 55441. Telephone: (612) 797-9733.
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