Industry: Healthcare

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Key Benefits: 

• Reduce theft of medical equipment and single-use items
• Implement real-time tech-based asset tracking affordably
• Avoid overstocking
• Find equipment fast and hassle-free Find equipment quickly and easily
• Identify where loss and theft occur
• Automate asset management

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Intro:

Things happen fast in the healthcare industry and especially in hospitals, so it's essential to have everything readily available. Unfortunately, this same environment also makes hospitals susceptible to theft by staff and patients, also as many believe that losing small items in such facilities may go unnoticed.

Additionally, due to the rapid turnover of patients, cleaning is done swiftly, which often results in mistakenly throwing away valuable equipment that could be relevant. All of these factors contribute to "shrinkage" in hospitals and other health facilities , which hampers the staff's ability to find the necessary equipment to save lives.

Unfortunately, theft alone costs hospitals across the U.S. more than $52 million annually. Such enormous amount could be better utilized to improve patient treatments, services, and saving lives. Hence addressing these issues is vital to optimize hospital operations, maintain security, and prioritize patient well-being.

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The Challenge: 

Hospitals are among the most sensitive organizations out there especially when speaking of protecting their assets. Unlike others, locking important equipment and single use items can be extremely risky, as time required to run and bring the necessary tool can cost a life; therefore items must be available and handy for the hospital staff at all times.

Often, patients and staff take advantage of this accessibility to steal. In fact, it’s estimated that up to 20 percent of implanted medical devices are “lost in inventory” each year. As a result, hospitals overstock equipment, where the average hospital “over spares” many consumables such as dressings and instruments by approximately 30%. While doing so, hospitals are losing money, money that could be extremely useful for other services and treatments.

The hospital staff is usually overworked and extremely busy in taking care of the patients, they just don’t have the capacity to follow and track every piece of asset that has been used. This makes hospitals turn to technologies to automate the tracking of their assets. Today, most healthcare providers would agree that their operations could benefit from improved efficiency, and this is exactly what RFID allows.

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The solution: 

Hospitals can reduce the amount of loss and stolen items drastically by tagging all valuable assets in RFID. Tagged items can be most types, such as scrubs, linen, medical equipment, tools, machines, wheelchairs, and more. Tagging by itself can reduce shrinkage as all items can be scanned and counted quickly and easily, as well as provide location tracking at any given time.

Also, being able to track assets can significantly reduce the number of stolen items as individuals are aware every item is being tracked and will think twice before casually taking something.

Besides the reduction of lost items and the cost of replacing them, implementing RFID in hospitals can improve treatment provided by reducing the time needed to find the required items or materials. With RFID, staff can quickly search with a hand reader or fixed readers .

Moreover, thanks to automated tracking of all inventory, hospitals can better manage available inventory, avoid understocking or overstocking, making all hospital operations much more efficient.

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Conclusion:

Implementing RFID technology in the healthcare industry to reduce theft and improve asset tracking has proven to be a game-changer for hospitals. By tagging valuable assets, hospitals can significantly minimize shrinkage, reduce annual financial losses, and prevent out-of-stock of essential items. With real-time tracking, staff can also locate equipment quickly and efficiently, saving valuable time that can be directed toward patient care. Furthermore, RFID also acts as a deterrent to potential thieves. The automation of asset management has streamlined hospital operations, leading to increased efficiency and ultimately better patient care. By addressing the challenges of theft and mismanagement, hospitals can now focus on their primary goal of providing top-notch healthcare services and improving patient outcomes.

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