RFID for Testing Hospital Beds

Filed in archive Healthcare on May 30, 2006

Here is another application of RFID in the field of healthcare. Municipal hospitals in Bielefeld would be testing beds with integrated RFID chips for the purpose of improving the deployment and cleaning of hospital beds. This pilot project which is considered to be the first of its kind in Germany would be conducted by Siemens Business Services and hospital bed manufacturer Joh Stiegelmeyer.

Earlier every bed was subjected through the same thorough cleaning procedure in the hospitals central preparation units irrespective of whether the patient had used the bed for a few hours or several days and whether one was suffering from a highly infectious disease or not.

RFID would enable all the hospital beds to be clearly identified and tracked. When a bed would pass the reader in the preparation unit, the system would be able to calculate the amount of time that has passed by since last the bed was cleaned and automatically appropriate work instructions would be issued.

Certainly it is going to save time, man hours and extra expenses.