Authors (including presenting author) :
Lei UM(1), Kam KW(1), Mak LKK(1)
Affiliation :
(1)Department of Pharmacy, Haven of Hope Hospital
Introduction :
In the past, e-kit management at Haven of Hope Hospital (HHH) required manual inspection, refill of used e-kits and record keeping for every kit exchange and expiry date tracking, which could be time-consuming and prone to error. Following the implementation of RFID technology to ward stock management system in 2021, we have the opportunity to utilize the technology further to automate the kit replenishment process such as receiving, refilling and issuing e-kits, to improve the efficiency and accuracy of e-kit management.
Objectives :
To enhance medication safety and efficiency of e-kit management through incorporating RFID technology and computerized system.
Methodology :
A computerized RFID e-kit management system has been implemented at HHH since 19 September 2022. Every e-kit item is tagged with RFID containing information of expiry date and batch number. Through scanning kit content with a RFID smartplate, any used, expiring, expired or extra items will be highlighted for further actions. Upon completion of e-kit refill, the system will automatically determine the used before date of the e-kit and document the preparation record. Besides, the receipt and dispatch of e-kits are tracked by the computerized system instead of manually transcribed records. With all computerized records, expiry tracking reports can be generated from the database, allowing tracing of short expiring kits for follow-up actions with ease.
Pre- and post-implementation data was captured for time needed in each step of kit receipt/dispatch and check/refill. Data were collected for 24 weeks, 12 weeks for both the pre- and post-implementation period.
Result & Outcome :
As at December 2022, 16 wards and 9 departments at HHH have utilized RFID e-kits. 50 pairs of RFID e-kits (50 Kit A and 50 Kit B) were tracked and maintained by the system. The time spent on receiving and issuing an e-kit was reduced by 39.7% (from 65s per traditional e-kit to 39s per RFID e-kit). For check/refill, even with additional time needed on preparing RFID-tagged items, the overall preparation time was reduced by 32.7% (from 7min 21s to 4min 57s per e-kit), contributed mainly by time saved on the manual inspection of used e-kit and documentation.
The implementation of RFID technology in e-kit management streamlines the workflow of e-kit exchange, preparation and expiry checking, enhancing efficiency while minimizing risks of human errors.
