Healthcare, in particular hospitals, is an ideal application for RFID. For hospitals, having the ability to accurately track their assets makes for more efficient inventory control, which translates to greater patient satisfaction.

Sanatorio Finochietto, a leading hospital in Argentina, selected Telectrónica’s Laundry RFID Solution, Zebra’s FX9600 and FX7500 fixed RFID readers and MC3190-Z handheld RFID readers to solve issues related to missing bedding and clothing and to meet industry regulations. By applying RFID tags to uniforms and bedding, the hospital gained complete visibility into inventory, while increasing worker productivity and reducing lost uniforms and bedding.

Paula De La Fuente Jeldres, hospitality manager, Sanatorio Finochietto, said the hospital uses RFID technology provided by Zebra and Telectrónica to obtain visibility and absolute traceability on each item within its operation.

“We use RFID technology to identify and track assets such as the uniforms worn by our doctors and nurses and the bed linens used in patient rooms to name a few,” De La Fuente Jeldres added.  “Each of these assets is identified with an RFID tag at the time of acquisition so we have traceability of each item throughout the entire life cycle of the product. This helps ensure clean linens and clothes are always available and ready for our patients and ensures the return of dirty clothes that are sent to the laundromat for washing.”

De La Fuente Jeldres said Sanatorio Finochietto seeks to solve three major problems in its operations that were previously manual-based, including reduction of thefts and losses; automating control processes and increasing staff and patient safety.

“We suffered many losses that forced us to replace assets, she noted. “RFID solutions help verify that all our clothes were received and sent to an external laundromat. We also needed these solutions to help monitor inventory levels of hospital garments to ensure we never run out. Prior to RFID solutions, we had to manually count these items. Meanwhile, dirty clothes used in surgery rooms could contain sharp materials left behind from surgery. RFID can help us overcome this. Also, when health professionals leave the hospital and return wearing the same clothes, this can lead to the risk of cross-contamination, which is a huge hazard to our patients and facilities.”

De La Fuente Jeldres said that relying on the information provided from the use of these RFID solutions was the biggest challenge in implementing RFID, and Zebra and Telectrónica helped the hospital overcome these hurdles.

“We had to make sure we could rely on the information provided from the use of these RFID solutions,” De La Fuente Jeldres reported. “Thanks to the design of RFID reading booths developed by Telectrónica and based on Zebra mobile solutions, we achieved our goal, overcoming all challenges and obtaining a reliable reading of up to 1000 units simultaneously in a matter of seconds.

“Training challenges also surfaced after the implementation of RFID,” she added. “Our employees had to become used to leaving their clothes and uniforms as opposed to taking them home with them. This was required to meet specific health and hospital regulations and help us track inventory. We also had to offer support for our employees in order to help them adjust to the new technologies. Luckily, our staff members adjusted quickly to the process changes and new technologies and are enjoying their new Zebra RFID handhelds.”

De La Fuente Jeldres observed that there were added benefits from RFID, such as the cost savings and ROI in just a few months after implementation of the solution.

With these benefits, De La Fuente Jeldres said that Sanatorio Finochietto will be further implementing RFID in the coming year.

“Since the success of the project, the hospital has launched multiple initiatives related to the implementation of RFID in other use cases, including medical equipment identification, medicine identification, control of medical equipment and supplies used in surgery and control of equipment that is loaded in ambulances,” De La Fuente Jeldres said.

Sanatorio Finochietto is receiving good feedback regarding the implementation of RFID.

“We are receiving good feedback on the system from both our own associates and customers,” De La Fuente Jeldres concluded. “Staff are reporting a higher level of satisfaction when completing their daily tasks using these RFID solutions and our customers are benefiting from improved service.”