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TRACK & TRACEABILITY


this happens in a hospital the sum can be significant2


n The time it takes to count and identify instruments in all areas but particularly decontamination and washing


n Delayed or cancelled procedures due to incorrectly packed sets have a negative impact on productivity and increase costs to the departments concerned


n Having to open extra set/sets to find missing instruments.


Financial implications Without specifically tracking your assets (the instruments) it is highly unlikely that you can audit and account for them. GS1 UK Healthcare user group published 20173


made reference to


the “management of valuable assets” stating that accurate instrument tracking is key. It went on to state that in a 500 bed hospital an average of more than £100,000 of instruments are lost per year. If this continues year on year for the next five years you only have to do the maths yourselves to see the accumulated loss for the NHS. Inaccurate inventory management leads to further unnecessary purchasing of instruments and, by not tracking the inventory, there is a loss of control over quality assurance as it is difficult to assess the quality of purchased instrumentation, with no record of how - and where - it has been used.


How can RFID tracking help? By using the software of BarCon along with RFID we have the ability to individually track instruments from point of delivery and purchase through to point of disposal including every “event” during its lifetime. We know that RFID is the only way of doing this as current systems using any data matrix (lasered) or dot peen rely on visual identification. This system is not fully functional in the presence of any fluid and has difficulty reading markings on any curved surface. The ultimate way to mark and identify all instruments is to correctly mark with GS1 UDI identifiers and with an RFID chip. This eliminates the need


for a visual reading and allows a purely electronic accurate recording of each instrument.


The BarCon and RFID tracking system enables a hospital to track and trace in real time (Scan 4 Safety is an initiative that has shown that by tracking and tracing assets costs can be significantly reduced. We believe that you can apply the same principles to one of the hospital’s biggest assets-instruments). It can be fully integrated into your cycle, from decontamination, through to washing, packing, sterilisation, storage, transportation and to use in theatres - and then back to TSSU.


It can also act as an excellent training tool for members of staff who handle the instruments, as it becomes so much easier to identify all instruments and their specific assembling and packing requirements. Productivity is increased by


decreasing workload, for instance, the receiving back of trays and even counts in theatre using RFID will allow you to complete these functions in literally seconds.


Accurately identifying and tracking instruments for repair, ensures that a repaired instrument has gone for repair - and returned repaired. On return, the original instrument can be returned to its ‘mother’ set because of the unique identification system.


By tracking supplementary


Counts in theatre using RFID will allow you to complete these functions in literally seconds – with 100% accuracy.


44 l JULY 2018 l OPERATING THEATRE


instruments more accurately we know from experience that this leads to a reduction in their use, and ultimately the costs of reprocessing and purchasing them. Accurate inventory management tells the administrator what is actually being used. Again, from experience we know that this has lead to a reduction in inventory and ultimately instruments being purchased, processed and used. These costs savings are significant.


Theatres and endoscopy These are areas often neglected when companies install tray tracing systems. We believe that this complex clinical area needs to have access to our system. It is an area of high cost and ultimately any mistakes can be significant for patient safety. It is also an area where improved productivity can result in increased revenue for hospitals. By having a smooth and accurate product flow through this environment it is a real possibility that theatres would be able top increase capacity. The ‘loss’ of trays - or opening of unnecessary trays - has a significant impact on costs and the installation of BarCon and RFID could also assist - and help with the ongoing relationship with theatres and TSSU.


Costs and ROI


In these challenging times we know budgets are stretched and, at first glance, you may ask yourself what the cost is and how do I get that money to pay for these types of systems. I would suggest that we begin with trying to control the loss of instruments. Every year we are imposing a cost on the


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