RFID tags tracking solutions company RFiD Discovery (a Paragon ID company) has introduced an automated solution that helps hospital staff populate medical kits of consumables used in the operating room to ensure that just the right medical tools are available for each surgery. The system recognizes RFID tags or barcodes on items, whether they are ready for each surgery or unused during surgery and need to be returned to the supply shelf.
RFiD Discovery’s app and software will provide instructions for each item option to ensure the correct medical tool is selected.
Originally deployed for the first time in 2016 by a large, unnamed acute National Health Service (NHS) hospital in the east of England, the system saves clinicians and healthcare providers seven or eight hours of labor time per day, and also enables them to collect and return unused equipment for operations. The solution is designed so that important but busy nurses, doctors and others don’t have to spend time managing supplies and equipment, but instead focus on patient care.
Employees use RFID handheld readers and barcode scanners for daily picking.
UHF Handheld Reader
RFID Discovery has developed this solution for NHS hospitals, which is now being commercially rolled out to hospitals worldwide. The company has further developed the system to automate the collection of medical tools and supplies. According to the company, another UK hospital is also deploying it in the hope of saving clinical staff time and ensuring that surgeries aren’t delayed because the right equipment isn’t prepared in the operating room.
RFiD Discovery is using RFID technology as a tool to help hospitals address surgical backlogs due to the COVID-19 outbreak, says Simon Dawkins, the company’s RFID principal consultant.
The traditional responsibility for selecting equipment for each procedure would typically fall to senior nurses and clinicians, who would have to go to the supply room to collect the equipment before each surgery. Doctors know what they themselves need and will also select additional items to ensure that all equipment that may need to be used during surgery is readily available. Unused items are then returned to the supply room once the surgery is over.
However, not only does such a manual process consume the nurse practitioner’s time, it also results in a large amount of equipment going in and out of the operating room, unintentionally resulting in wasted or lost equipment.
For nurses and clinicians, the focus is on ensuring that all the equipment needed for each procedure is available. This solution is designed to make the process of selecting and returning equipment transparent and easy to implement. Dawkins says, “We revolutionized the process by creating a system that guides medical staff in collecting the equipment needed for each patient’s procedure.” The hospital uses software and apps to manage the data collected, and each item has the option of using UHF RFID tags, barcodes, or a combination of both.
The solution frees nurses and doctors from the hassle of managing surgical supplies and equipment
Each time a new medical device or tool is received, it is marked with a unique ID number that is coded or printed on a label, which is then linked to the corresponding item in the software. The software also stores data on the shelves where each product should be stored. When a worker completes a picking routine using an RFID handheld reader or barcode scanner, the RFiD Discovery application running on the reader displays the scheduled procedure and lists the items it requires and the shelves where they are stored. The user can then take a reusable surgical bag and collect the necessary items while scanning or interrogating each label.
The app updates the list after each scan, and the reader warns people if they take the wrong item. The app finalizes the list of tools only after all the items are packed, and users can add or subtract some items through exception reports and write notes if necessary. Next, they read the RFID tag on the surgical kit and correlate it with all the tagged items in the package. At this point, the system prints a label that associates the patient’s name with the tools placed inside the surgical bag.
The surgical package is then transferred directly to a designated surgical suite, where an RFID reader in that suite can read the package ID and confirm the surgical tools received. Once the surgery is complete, any unused items can be placed back into the same package to be returned together to the supply room. Upon return, staff will scan or read each tag, and the data collected can be stored to document which supplies, tools or implants were used for that patient.
“That means everything needed for each procedure is in that package.” Dawkins said, “This data informs the post-surgery analysis. That way over time, we can analyze the items that the surgeon really needs to use for the surgery and the items that don’t do much.” If certain items are frequently added to the list of surgical items or frequently returned as unused, the system can advise the hospital if it needs to update its purchasing program. The data can also be used, for example, to track down implants to a specific patient in the event of a recall after the surgery has been completed.
RFID Discovery released the solution after five years of use in NHS hospitals due to increasing demand for surgical efficiency. Dawkins points out that this may have to be attributed to the New Crown epidemic. “There was a huge backlog of hospital surgeries due to the new crown pneumonia, so this was about making sure doctors had everything they needed to start surgeries on time and deal with the backlog efficiently.”
The solution also includes UHF RFID tags from Paragon ID, but it is generally used for specific use cases and high-value items. For example, low-value supplies may use barcodes, while high-value supplies such as implants or high-end devices may be RFID-tagged and are often equipped with handheld devices that have both RFID tag reading and barcode scanning capabilities. The system also features real-time positioning of fixed readers or smart cabinets to automatically capture data about inventory status within the supply room.
A hospital that performs 55,000 surgeries per year in 42 operating rooms is deploying the solution to all of these facilities. Since deployment, the solution has helped the hospital reduce waste by £60 per procedure by locating medical consumables and ensuring they are not lost or left unused. In addition, it has saved clinical time and reduced inventory by £1 million.
RFiD Discovery notes that for many hospitals, the challenge of adopting technology is breaking with existing hospital traditions and a sense of reluctance to change on the part of healthcare professionals.
The system shifts responsibility from the OR staff to the purchaser, which may cause some concern among the medical staff until they are comfortable with the new solution,” says Dawkins. However, many medical facilities may not realize how many supplies are being wasted until they have access to the data provided by RFID. If even the operating room staff doesn’t know which products are being discarded without being used, then the hospital side of the organization is even less likely to know the cost of that waste. And it’s big data analytics that makes this whole program work.”
Conclusion
RFID Discovery’s automated surgical kit management system demonstrates how UHF RFID and barcode technology can transform hospital operations by streamlining supply chain efficiency, reducing waste, and empowering clinicians to focus on patient care. By digitizing the tracking of medical tools and consumables, the solution addresses critical challenges such as surgical delays, equipment loss, and unnecessary expenditures—saving hospitals significant time (7–8 hours daily) and costs (£1M inventory reduction, £60/procedure waste reduction).
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated adoption, highlighting RFID’s role in tackling surgical backlogs through data-driven insights. Real-time visibility into item usage enables hospitals to optimize procurement, while post-surgery analytics improve future preparedness. Despite initial resistance to change, the proven ROI—combining workflow automation, error prevention, and waste reduction—positions this system as a scalable model for global healthcare institutions seeking to enhance operational resilience and resource accountability.
Ultimately, RFID Discovery’s innovation underscores how smart tracking technologies can bridge gaps between clinical needs and supply chain realities, turning logistical challenges into opportunities for efficiency and cost savings in high-stakes environments.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does RFID tags tracking improve surgical efficiency?
RFID tracking automates inventory management, reducing 7-8 hours of daily manual work. The system ensures 100% accurate kit preparation through:
• Real-time item tracking
• Automated error alerts
• Digital reconciliationWhat’s the ROI of implementing RFID in ORs?
Documented benefits include:
• £60 waste reduction per procedure
• £1M annual inventory savings
• 30% faster kit preparation
• 5-7 day supply chain accelerationCan RFID track both disposable and reusable items?
Yes. The hybrid system supports:
• UHF RFID tags for high-value devices
• Barcodes for consumables
• Smart cabinets for real-time inventoryHow does COVID-19 make RFID more critical?
The solution addresses pandemic challenges by:
• Reducing staff exposure through contactless tracking
• Clearing surgical backlogs via efficient workflows
• Minimizing PPE waste through precise trackingWhat data insights does RFID provide?
The system generates actionable analytics on:
• Actual vs anticipated tool usage
• Frequent unused items (enabling procurement optimization)
• Equipment utilization rates
• Patient-specific implant trackingHow difficult is staff adoption?
While change management is required:
• Intuitive mobile interfaces ensure quick onboarding
• 5+ years of NHS implementation experience
• Visible time savings drive clinician acceptanceWhat makes this different from traditional RFID?
Key innovations include:
• Surgical workflow-specific software
• Exception reporting for clinical flexibility
• Post-procedure analytics integration
• Hybrid RFID/barcode supportHow does it prevent equipment loss?
Through:
• Digital chain-of-custody tracking
• Mandatory scan points
• Automated return reminders
• Lost item alertsCan small hospitals afford this?
The modular system offers:
• Phased implementation options
• Cloud-based software
• ROI typically <12 months
• Shared equipment poolsWhat future enhancements are planned?
Roadmap includes:
• AI-powered predictive kit assembly
• IoT sensor integration for sterilization tracking
• Blockchain for implant provenance
• AR-guided picking