Management of surgical instruments with radio frequency identification tags: A 27-month in hospital trial
International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance
ISSN: 0952-6862
Article publication date: 14 March 2016
Abstract
Purpose
To prevent malpractices, medical staff has adopted inventory time-outs and/or checklists. Accurate inventory and maintenance of surgical instruments decreases the risk of operating room miscounting and malfunction. In our previous study, an individual management of surgical instruments was accomplished using Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate a new management method of RFID-tagged instruments.
Design/methodology/approach
The management system of RFID-tagged surgical instruments was used for 27 months in clinical areas. In total, 13 study participants assembled surgical trays in the central sterile supply department.
Findings
While using the management system, trays were assembled 94 times. During this period, no assembly errors occurred. An instrument malfunction had occurred after the 19th, 56th, and 73th uses, no malfunction caused by the RFID tags, and usage history had been recorded. Additionally, the time it took to assemble surgical trays was recorded, and the long-term usability of the management system was evaluated.
Originality/value
The system could record the number of uses and the defective history of each surgical instrument. In addition, the history of the frequency of instruments being transferred from one tray to another was recorded. The results suggest that our system can be used to manage instruments safely. Additionally, the management system was acquired of the learning effect and the usability on daily maintenance. This finding suggests that the management system examined here ensures surgical instrument and tray assembly quality.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The research was financially supported by the Sasakawa Scientific Research Grant from The Japan Science Society, Adaptable and Seamless Technology Transfer Program through target-driven R and D, JST, and The Telecommunications Advancement Foundation.
Citation
Kusuda, K., Yamashita, K., Ohnishi, A., Tanaka, K., Komino, M., Honda, H., Tanaka, S., Okubo, T., Tripette, J. and Ohta, Y. (2016), "Management of surgical instruments with radio frequency identification tags: A 27-month in hospital trial", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 29 No. 2, pp. 236-247. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHCQA-03-2015-0034
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited