Professional Practice and Innovation: RF-MediSys: A Radio Frequency Identification-Based Electronic Medical Record System for Improving Medical Information Accessibility and Services at Point of Care

Abstract

This paper presents an innovative electronic medical records (EMR) system, RF-MediSys, which can perform medical information sharing and retrieval effectively and which is accessible via a ‘smart’ medical card. With such a system, medical diagnoses and treatment decisions can be significantly improved when compared with the conventional practice of using paper medical records systems. Furthermore, the entire healthcare delivery process, from registration to the dispensing or administration of medicines, can be visualised holistically to facilitate performance review. To examine the feasibility of implementing RF-MediSys and to determine its usefulness to users of the system, a survey was conducted within a multi-disciplinary medical service organisation that operates a network of medical clinics and paramedical service centres throughout Hong Kong Island, the Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories. Questionnaires were distributed to 300 system users, including nurses, physicians and patients, to collect feedback on the operation and performance of RF-MediSys in comparison with conventional paper-based medical record systems. The response rate to the survey was 67%. Results showed a medium to high level of user satisfaction with the radiofrequency identification (RFID)-based EMR system. In particular, respondents provided high ratings on both ‘user-friendliness’ and ‘system performance’. Findings of the survey highlight the potential of RF-MediSys as a tool to enhance quality of medical services and patient safety.

Keywords

Electronic Health Records Health Services Accessibility Radio Frequency Identification Access to Health Care Health Information Technology Safety

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ghani

M.K. Abd

Bali

R.K.

Naguib

R.N.G.

Marshall

I.M.

Wickramasinghe

N.S.

(2008). Electronic health records approaches and challenges: A comparison between Malaysia and four East Asian countries. International Journal of Electronic Healthcare 4(1): 78–104.

Al-Azmi

S.F.

Al-Enezi

Chowdhury

R.I.

(2009). Users' attitudes to an electronic medical record system and its correlates: A multivariate analysis. Health Information Management Journal 38(2): 33–40.

Bates

D.W.

Gawande

A.A.

(2003). Improving safety with information technology. The New England Journal of Medicine 348: 2526–2534.

EPCglobal Inc. (2005). The EPCglobal Architecture Framework. EPCglobal Final, Available at:: http://www.gs1.org/sites/default/files/docs/architecture/architecture_1_0-framework-20050701.pdf.

Jamal

McKenzie

Clark

(2009). The impact of health information technology on the quality of medical and health care: A systematic review. Health Information Management Journal 38(3): 26–37.

Meadows

(2006). Medication use and older adults. FDA Consumer Magazine, Available at: http://www.athealth.com/consumer/disorders/olderadultsmeds.html.

Parente

S.T.

McCullough

J.S.

(2009). Health information technology and patient safety: Evidence from panel data. Health Affairs 28(2): 357–360.

Tam

K.W.T.

Kwok

H.K.

Fan

Y.M.C.

Tsui

K.B.

K.K.

K.Y.A.

Lau

K.T.

Chan

Y.C.

Tse

C.W.C.

Lau

C.M.

(2008). Detection and prevention of medication misadventures in general practice. International Journal for Quality in Health Care 20(3): 192–199.

Ting

S.L.

Kwok

S.K.

Tsang

A.H.C.

Lee

W.B.

(2009). Critical elements and lessons learnt from the implementation of an RFID-enabled healthcare management system in a medical organisation. Journal of Medical Systems (in press).

10.

Ting

S.L.

Kwok

S.K.

Tsang

A.H.C.

Lee

W.B.

(2010). An RFID-based drug management system: A case in medical organisation. Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on e-Health Services and Technologies (ICEHST) 2010, July 29–31, Athens, Greece.