RFID Speeds Hospital Reaction To Recalled Drugs
By Katie Wike, contributing writer
A scanner and printer system that logs prescription information is making identifying and finding recalled drugs faster than ever
Radio-frequency identification (RIFD) has been used to effectively reduce medication errors by matching prescriptions to their intended patients, but now the technology is tracking recalls, identifying their destination, and potentially saving lives. For the CaroMont Regional Medical Center, the manual process of tracking down recalled drugs has been all but eliminated through its RFID system.
According to RFID Journal, CaroMont experiences approximately 300 recalls every year; keeping those drugs from reaching patients in its 435 beds is a top priority. RFID Journal writes, “If a recall occurs, workers can enter the recalled medication's lot number into software, which identifies if that drug is packed in any kits, pinpointing the affected kits and the carts on which they can be found. Employees then manually locate the appropriate carts and kits, returning them to the pharmacy and remove the recalled drug.”
CaroMont is using scanners from Kit Check and Zebra Technologies printers. They attach a tag to each medication that, when scanned, tracks where the medication is headed and inside which kit it is packed. Once medications are in a kit, they are taken to a scanning center where a reader interprets all the tags and alerts the user if there are missing or incorrect drugs. The entire process can be completed in less than five minutes compared to the previous twenty.
When the FDA issues drug recalls, Kevin MacDonald, founder of Kit Check, says it could take 20 to 30 hours for hospital staff to visually check every cart in every department for the recalled medication. Now, thanks to previously scanned information, the process often takes less than 2 hours.
Mike Molby, director of pharmacy services at CaroMont, told RIFD Journal, “It's fairly simple to use,” and despite needing to be trained, personnel “get it, really quick. I think they see that we're on the forefront of something pretty advanced.”