How to Track Surgical Instruments

Horror stories of patients coming out of surgery with surgical sponges and tools still in their bodies have been in the news for many years. In 2003, researchers lauded the practice of bar-coding surgical trays so doctors and nurses could keep tabs on the surgical supplies. However, health care practitioners still had to count each sponge and tool, and incidences of retained surgical items, RSIs, continued. Now, more hospitals are using radio-frequency identification, RFID, technology to locate surgical supplies. In August 2010, the FDA approved an RFID system for use in operating rooms.

Instructions

• 1

  Mark each surgical item with a unique RFID identifier. Antennas installed in the operating room will pick up the signal from each item.

• 2

  Register an inventory of items present in the operating room before beginning the operation. Use the software application that handles the counting of the items and saves the list.

• 3

  Update the count at the end of the procedure. The software will indicate if there are any items missing.