06.03.16
Zebra Technologies has engaged with IDG Connect to explore how hospitals in Europe are managing patient and specimen identification, handling data collection and retrieval to better understand opportunities for future improvement.
The survey suggests that while hospitals are making headway in mobile working for staff, there are areas where efficiency is being hindered by staff underutilizing the technology investments already in place.
The technology most favored – and therefore most utilized - by staff is that which is used in everyday life such as Wi-Fi and mobile devices. For nearly one-third of respondents, RFID technology is simply not well understood and therefore met with opposition. The reality is, however, wider application of both RFID and barcoding would be easily managed and save staff significant time in patient identification, inventory and clinical care.
Fear of cost tops the list of reasons not to implement effective ID technology, followed by integration challenges (UK and Italy), reception by staff (Germany) and patient relations’ reaction and fear of patients feeling ‘labeled’ (France). Meanwhile, 78% of all recipients still use handwritten patient wristbands despite potential illegibility and fading.
Approximately 90% of all hospitals plan to use barcoding for asset management, and four-fifths say the same about RFID. The UK is the biggest advocate of ID technology, and 90% plan to use both technologies for all applications.
The survey suggests that while hospitals are making headway in mobile working for staff, there are areas where efficiency is being hindered by staff underutilizing the technology investments already in place.
The technology most favored – and therefore most utilized - by staff is that which is used in everyday life such as Wi-Fi and mobile devices. For nearly one-third of respondents, RFID technology is simply not well understood and therefore met with opposition. The reality is, however, wider application of both RFID and barcoding would be easily managed and save staff significant time in patient identification, inventory and clinical care.
Fear of cost tops the list of reasons not to implement effective ID technology, followed by integration challenges (UK and Italy), reception by staff (Germany) and patient relations’ reaction and fear of patients feeling ‘labeled’ (France). Meanwhile, 78% of all recipients still use handwritten patient wristbands despite potential illegibility and fading.
Approximately 90% of all hospitals plan to use barcoding for asset management, and four-fifths say the same about RFID. The UK is the biggest advocate of ID technology, and 90% plan to use both technologies for all applications.