[medinformatics] U.K Hospital will Tag Patients

[Healthcare Informatics News]

Patients at a Birmingham, United Kingdom*hospital are to be electronically tagged in a
bid to prevent medical mistakes in what has been described as a “world first”. From the BBC:



Heartlands Hospital is piloting the system which will track the
movements of people undergoing surgery through a wireless network. Their records are then brought up on screens for use
by staff at key points. Developers believe the system will reduce the risk of human errors and improve medical
efficiency.

Digital photographs are taken of patients who are then tagged on arrival and the information is synchronised with
their electronic records.

David Morgan, a consultant ENT surgeon at the hospital who helped devise the process, said the patients location
could then be tracked to within yards and their details fed to visual display units in theatres, anaesthetic rooms and
waiting areas.

From the Birmingham Post:


Daconi, based in Coventry, produced the wireless network which connects the
electronic tags to small computers carried by medical staff. Birmingham firm Intelligent Medical Micro Systems (IMMS)
developed the software for the tags, and both firms are funding the £25,000 trial.

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