The Capital Health System (CHS) Center for Sleep Medicine has deployed an RFID-based file tracking system to improve efficiency and help accurately maintain its patient files.

Capital, a 589-bed acute-care and teaching hospital in Trenton, N.J., installed a system from Infolinx Systems Solutions and Intermec to track more than 7,000 patient files throughout their lifecycle.

"The Intermec/Infolinx RFID system completely automates the file tracking process, so our staff spends much less time managing files," says Rita Brooks, administrative director for the Sleep Centers. "We've seen a significant decrease in misplaced files since we've implemented the solution, which has improved the efficiency of our operations."

CHS has been providing comprehensive evaluation and treatment for sleep disorders at its facilities for nearly 20 years, and recently consolidated the two sleep centers at its Fuld and Mercer campuses into one facility.

As part of the move, CHS wanted to find a way to improve its file management processes. "We were looking for a way to manage charts because we were afraid we going to double our problem," Brooks says, adding that the Center wanted to consolidate its three patient databases into one.

"We told them that we needed the database, and we needed some way to find the charts," Brooks says. "We were spending hours a day looking for charts."

Brooks and her team considered bar coding, but it would have involved getting staff (including busy physicians) to change their work procedures to use the scanners. Infolinx was able to address the Center's database issues, as well as offer the RFID tracking system to help manage the physical files.

Infolinx provides custom and commercial off-the-shelf records management software in a variety of industries. The company has offered an RFID option with its solutions since 2003, and recently formed a partnership with Intermec to offer its EPCglobal Gen2 UHF technology.

Using RFID technology for file tracking isn't necessarily the right solution for everyone, though. "For records management, it gets down to a few things," says Chip Benson, director of business development at Infolinx. "If you are dealing with mission-critical files or records, then RFID might be appropriate. The second criteria is how fast or how active the files are. If a customer has mission-critical files that are highly mobile, then they're a candidate for RFID tracking."

Capital Health met both of these criteria, and was in a perfect position to deploy this leading-edge technology.

"We got lucky in that this was part of our renovation," Brooks said. "We had more leeway to fund new technology. We're creating a state-of-the-art sleep center here."

Capital set up the tracking solution at its existing Mercer Sleep Center so that staff could get used to the system, and to work out any bugs.

Intermec Gen2 RFID labels are placed on each patient file. Strategically placed Intermec IF4 fixed readers track the files as they move through the primary areas of the Sleep Center complex. The system automatically updates the database to provide the current record location data. If a file is missing, staff can use an Intermec 750 hand-held computer with an integrated reader to scan stacks of files and locate the individual record.

"These files have a tendency to travel when they are first created to about three or four different locations," Benson says. "We placed readers in those locations, so as they move they can know which areas the files are in."

Now that operations are moving into the new facility, Brooks and her team are still setting up the equipment, and preparing to train staff from the other Sleep Center to use the RFID capability.

With improved file tracking, CHS will be able to manage its growing patient load while improving staff efficiency. "We have averaged about 1,000 patients per year, and we expect that will increase in a few years," Brooks says. "We also have returning patients, so being able to quickly find these charts is important."