In 2010, a Singaporean couple who carried their newborn through in vitro fertilization (IVF) were quite surprised to find that their baby's skin color was significantly different from theirs. Further investigation led them to discover that their daughter's blood type did not match theirs.

After DNA testing, the results confirmed their worst fears: that a genetic sample from a stranger had been used to fertilize the mother's egg. Further investigation also confirmed procedural and human errors caused by the two embryologists in handling the samples, making the couple victims of medical errors.

Advances in medical technology have improved our lives, but human medical errors have not been eradicated. The consequences of any medical mistakes can not be ignored, some mistakes will lead to the quality of life of patients, and even directly lead to the death of patients.

Medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical School. In fact, more than 250000 Americans die each year from medical errors. Potentially fatal medical errors include unrecognized surgical complications and drug confusion in the process of administering drugs to patients. However, because death certificates do not usually record medical errors, the specific number of deaths due to medical errors is not known, which also leads us to seriously underestimate the importance of this issue.

Minimize human error while preserving humanity

Although medical institutions and practitioners have adopted strict operating procedures to avoid similar errors, "human error" cannot be completely avoided, such as the case of DNA confusion caused by the human error of embryologists mentioned above. The occurrence of these medical accidents is often caused by the overwork of medical staff for a long time or the distraction of performing multiple tasks at the same time, but these factors are difficult to control. Clearly, the industry needs a quick and effective solution to reduce the burden on medical staff.

This is where the Internet of Things (IoT) comes into play. In the field of healthcare, the Internet of Things has established a world where barcodes, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, and sensors can be fixed on objects and connected to the Internet to give objects digital functions. Sensors and barcodes can be attached to almost anyone or anything, including clinicians, patients, vehicles, equipment and drugs, and can transmit data to obtain insightful information from all corners of the hospital in real time.

In the Asia-Pacific region, some organizations have begun to consider the application of IoT technology to healthcare solutions. For example, the Singapore government supports an Internet of Things-based elderly care plan "SHINESeniors", which monitors the physical environment and physical conditions (such as mobility, sleep quality, and medication compliance) of elderly people by installing sensors in their homes. Real-time collection and visualization of data can help detect abnormalities in the lifestyle of the elderly. The plan hopes to detect risk factors in the lives of the elderly in advance, and notify community caregivers to take timely actions and provide help before the situation deteriorates and causes real harm.

Technology and medical staff complement each other

In the healthcare environment, potential IoT technology applications are everywhere. By scanning barcodes and RFID tags with handheld smart terminals, doctors and nurses can work directly at the patient's bedside. Here are some examples of countries exploring ways to achieve higher quality patient care today:

Medication management: In Singapore and other cities in the Asia Pacific region, nurses have begun to use mobile smart terminals to scan patients' ID wristbands during treatment and ward rounds. This active patient identification (PPID) method can accurately confirm the patient's name and date of birth, and medical personnel can use voice verification to find the patient's medical record.

Nagasaki University Hospital in Japan has deployed a mobile intelligent terminal of zebra technology, which enables nurses to access patient information in real time, realize active identification of patient identity, and further improve nursing efficiency and accuracy.

The mobile intelligent terminal can also provide a guiding workflow for medication management, supporting the "five right of drug management", namely: the right patient, the right drug, the right dose, the right route of administration and the right time. The nurse can also scan the bar code on the pill box and perform a cross-check to confirm that the patient is not allergic to the drug. The mobile intelligent terminal can also help the medical staff to confirm whether the drug has been taken by the patient, and automatically create notes on the patient's electronic medical record, including the name of the drug, the specific time and date of taking, and the nurse ID.

Time is critical: In many medical emergencies, time is of the essence. By using the Bluetooth smart wristband for marking, it is possible to track the status and progress of the patient from admission to surgery.

For example, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) in the Netherlands has deployed a real-time tracking solution for patients with acute myocardial infarction. LUMC Cardiology has set up a "Door-To-Balloon (DTB) Special Team" to focus on ischemic time in patients with myocardial infarction. DTB refers to the period of time from the patient's admission to the first percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to remove blood vessel blockage by balloon dilation to restore blood flow, which is very critical for the patient. In order to reduce DTB time, real-time, accurate time tracking, evaluation and feedback is essential.

The visualization solution developed by Zebra in collaboration with LUMC makes it easy for hospitals to be able to track patients and provide real-time feedback on DTB times. The resulting real-time data enables all members of the care team, including cardiologists, emergency physicians, nurses, EMS staff, technicians and administrators, to focus on reducing DTB time.

Blood transfusion errors: In a busy ward, even if they do their best, medical staff will still make mistakes when collecting blood. By using a mobile smart terminal and a printer, the occurrence of these human errors can be avoided. The nurse can use the mobile intelligent terminal to check which tests the patient needs, scan the patient's wristband to confirm his identity, then take blood, and then use the mobile printer to print the barcode label on the blood sample.

All procedures can be performed at the bedside, which is essential to avoid errors. The bar code ensures that the tube in which the blood sample is stored is always correctly identified and tracks the workflow of blood sample processing-from the ward to the laboratory on the way to the laboratory. This impeccable system ensures that each patient and his own blood sample can be accurately matched one by one, thereby reducing the possibility of errors due to negligence in the blood collection process.

The healthcare industry faces numerous challenges. Doctors and nurses must effectively balance the energy spent on treating patients and dealing with administrative matters. Traditional patient care is unsustainable. With the development of technology, medical staff who contact hundreds of patients every day can leave the laborious work that needs to be done manually to the machine, freeing their minds and hands to provide high-quality medical services. IoT technology will improve the efficiency of medical personnel, thereby providing more personalized medical care services. The most important thing is to say goodbye to traditional treatment methods and open up new roads to provide accurate treatment and medical procedures.

For more information on healthcare visualization solutions, please visit the website of Zebra Technology Agent Hongxing Yongli Electronic Technology Co., Ltd.