RFID-based drug management and electronic nursing service management systems

The local healthcare industry faces serious challenges of insufficient manpower, a continuously high utilisation rate of medical services, and surging demand for personalised nursing services due to an aging population. To address these issues, frontline healthcare practitioners are under considerable pressure. The Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) has developed two Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based smart healthcare systems, namely 1) a drug management system and 2) an electronic nursing service management system.

The former system tracks drugs throughout the drug handling processes to ensure accurate drugs replenishing and dispensing to prevent errors in dispensing drugs. The latter is an electronic information system which enables the management, recording and tracking of nursing services information with real-time service monitoring and alert features. It aims to relieve workload and pressure of frontline practitioners, and enhance efficiency and quality of nursing services. Both systems can be used in healthcare institutions including hospitals, infirmary units, rehabilitation centres, elderly nursing homes, clinics, etc.