How RFID Helps Administer COVID-19 Vaccines In Hospitals
Given that a global pandemic concerns the health of every individual around the world, getting everyone vaccinated as soon as possible is the optimum solution everyone has in mind to put an end to health crises like the Coronavirus. Once the first set of COVID-19 vaccines roll out, the vials get distributed to healthcare facilities so that these can be administered to the masses not just in Singapore, but all across the globe. Since getting everyone vaccinated is going to take thousands, if not millions of vials, managing them efficiently is key for a more streamlined vaccination process.
RFID or Radio Frequency Identification is a tool that harnesses electromagnetic fields to help instantly bring up necessary information and data about a certain item. If RFID reading devices are incorporated into the way hospitals manage their vaccination vials, they get to enjoy the benefit of a simpler management process. It also promotes efficiency through the use of dedicated tools that enables hospitals to focus on the administration of the vaccines to the human population. Here is how.
Storage of COVID-19 vaccines
When it comes to storing vaccine vials before they are administered, the temperature of the room that they are kept in should be controlled.
Healthcare facilities such as hospitals have to adapt accordingly to help in the success of administering the COVID-19 vaccine to the masses – they need to transform their establishment into vaccination centres, making sure that they stock enough COVID-19 vaccines, and that the vials for the vaccines are properly handled as instructed.
Also, with the use of RFID technology, such as an RFID tool tracking system, this can help hospitals monitor the temperature levels of the vials from an ultra-freezer environment, all the way to the syringe. In that way, compliance with the standards set by the vaccine distributor for optimal efficacy is closely monitored and followed.
RFID can digitalise vaccine management
There are a lot of things to consider when managing vaccines, such as the vial count and their expiration dates. When hospitals incorporate RFID into their management of vaccines, they can easily analyse vital information and data through the use of dedicated tools or applications that can help them manage their vials accordingly. This can help mitigate the complications and possible errors that can otherwise be sustained if the vaccines were managed manually, such as accidentally giving an expired shot to a patient.
Incorporating RFID and having dedicated tools and applications to help hospitals monitor and manage their stock of COVID-19 vaccines will also enable them to opt-out of records done on paper, which is very time-consuming and can easily be damaged or misplaced.
This is beneficial because when it comes to mass vaccination for a global pandemic, it must be done within a certified time frame without any mishap. Switching to cloud-based records is also very cost-efficient since records that are paper-based have an increased risk of loss of data, which can be critical and very costly.
RFID companies can provide hospitals with solutions that can help make the vaccination management process more streamlined by enabling close monitoring of the number of vials, how they are stored, their expiration dates, and so much more. With RFID implementation, it can help facilitate COVID-19 vaccine management to be more efficient.
