Potential Challenges of RFID Implementation: A Survey in Teaching Hospitals

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Health Information Sciences, Faculty of Management and Medical Information Sciences, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

2 Department of Health Information Management, Faculty of Management and Medical Information Sciences, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) can increase the quality of healthcare
and improve patient safety by collecting information, automatically identifying patients,
tracking patient movements and hospital equipment. However, successful implementation
and adoption of this technology face several barriers. The objective of this study was to
identify and prioritize the potential challenges of implementing RFID in hospitals.
Methods: This study was conducted on all information technology administrators and
managers of educational hospitals in Kerman (n=43). Data were collected through a valid
and reliable (α=0.94) questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of two sections with 33
questions (4 questions for demographic information and 29 questions for implementation
barriers). T-test and one-way ANOVA were used to examine the relationship between the
barriers and demographic information.
Results: Financial (3.67), managerial-specialized (3.40) and attitudinal-behavioral (3.36)
barriers had the highest means among the RFID implementation barriers, respectively. Age,
gender, work experience, and organizational position had no effect on the prioritization of
barriers (p <0.05).
Conclusion: Failure to finance RFID implementation project, spending a lot of time and
money to train RFID users, and unfamiliarity of users with RFID created the most problems
in implementing this technology, respectively. Therefore, making short and long-term
policies to address these barriers are recommended. Hospital managers can overcome
implementation barriers by making decisions based on a detailed and transparent analysis of
return on investment, allocating funds to implementation projects, and careful planning for
user training to improve their awareness and technical knowledge.

Keywords


1. Tu YJ, Chi H, Zhou W, Kapoor G, Eryarsoy E, Piramuthu S. Critical Evaluation of RFID Applications in Healthcare. International
Conference on Future Network Systems and Security. 2019:240-8. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-34353-8_18.
2. Abugabah A. Integrating RFID with healthcare information systems: toward smart hospitals. Asian Journal of Information Technology. 2017;16(9):734.
3. Haddara M, Staaby A. RFID Applications and Adoptions in Healthcare: A Review on Patient Safety. Procedia Comput Sci. 2018;138:80-8. doi: 10.1016/j.procs.2018.10.012.
4. Coustasse A, Cunningham B, Deslich S, Willson E, Meadows P. Benefits and Barriers of Implementation and Utilization of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Systems in Transfusion Medicine. Perspect Health Inf Manag. 2015;12:1d.
5. Paaske S, Bauer A, Moser T, Seckman C. The benefits and barriers to RFID technology in healthcare. On-Line Journal of Nursing Informatics. 2017;21(2).
6. Yazici HJ. An exploratory analysis of hospital perspectives on real time information requirements and perceived benefits of RFID technology for future adoption. International Journal of Information Management. 2014;34(5):603-21. doi: 10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2014.04.010.
7. Thapa RR, Bhuiyan M, Krishna A, Prasad P. Application of RFID technology to reduce overcrowding in hospital emergency departments. Advances in Information Systems Development: Springer; 2018. p. 17-32. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-74817-7_2.
8. Cao Q, Jones DR, Sheng H. Contained nomadic information environments: Technology, organization, and environment influences on adoption of hospital RFID patient tracking. Information & management. 2014;51(2):225-39. doi: 10.1016/j.im.2013.11.007.
9. Statista [Internet]. Global healthcare RFID market share by application in 2016 and a forecast for 2021. [Accessed 14 July 2019]. Available from https://www.statista.com/statistics/805245/rfidhealthcare- market-by-application-worldwide.
10. Yao W, Chu CH, Li Z. The adoption and implementation of RFID technologies in healthcare: a literature review. J Med Syst. 2012;36(6):3507-25. doi: 10.1007/s10916-011-9789-8.
11. Azevedo SG, Ferreira JJ. Radio frequency identification: a case study of healthcare organisations. International Journal of Security and Networks. 2010;5(2-3):147-55. doi: 10.1504/IJSN.2010.032213.
12. van der Togt R, Bakker PJ, Jaspers MW. A framework for performance and data quality assessment of Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) systems in health care settings. J Biomed Inform. 2011;44(2):372-83. doi: 10.1016/j. jbi.2010.12.004.
13. Winston TG, Paul S, Iyer L, editors. A study of privacy and security concerns on doctors’ and nurses’ behavioral intentions to use RFID in hospitals. 2016 Jan 5-8. 2016 49th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS); 2016. doi: 10.1109/HICSS.2016.392.
14. Kuo CY, Huang CT. A reliable transformation method and heterologous expression of betaglucuronidase in Lentinula edodes. J Microbiol Methods. 2008;72(2):111-5. doi: 10.1016/j.mimet.2007.11.006.
15. Vanany I, Shaharoun ABM, Bin A, editors. Barriers and critical success factors towards RFID technology adoption in South-East Asian Healthcare Industry. 3-5, December 2008. Bali: Proceedings of the 9th Asia Pacific Industrial Engineering & Management Systems Conference, Bali, Indonesia; 2008.
16. Reyes PM, Li S, Visich JK. Accessing antecedents and outcomes of RFID implementation in health care. International Journal of Production Economics. 2012;136(1):137-50. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpe.2011.09.024.
17. Lai HM, Lin IC, Tseng LT. High-level managers’ considerations for RFID adoption in hospitals: an empirical study in Taiwan. J Med Syst. 2014;38(2):3. doi: 10.1007/s10916-013-0003-z.
18. Ebrahimi S, Sharifian R, Bastani P. Readiness of hospitals affiliated with Shiraz university of medical sciences for implementation of radio frequency identification technology. Journal of Health Management & Informatics. 2015;2(4):120-5.
19. Yao W, Chu C-H, Li Z, editors. The use of RFID in healthcare: Benefits and barriers. 17-19 June 2010; Guangzhou: 2010 IEEE International Conference on RFID-Technology and Applications; 2010. doi: 10.1109/RFID-TA.2010.5529874.
20. Okoniewska B, Graham A, Gavrilova M, Wah D, Gilgen J, Coke J, et al. Multidimensional evaluation of a radio frequency identification wi-fi location tracking system in an acute-care hospital setting. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2012;19(4):674-9. doi: 10.1136/amiajnl-2011-000560.
21. Berkowitz SJ, Wei JL, Halabi S. Migrating to the Modern PACS: Challenges and Opportunities. Radiographics. 2018;38(6):1761-72. doi: 10.1148/rg.2018180161.
22. Almalki M, Al-fleit S, Zafar A. Challenges in Implementation of Information System Strategies in Saudi Business Environment: A Case Study of a Bank. International Journal of Computer Trends and Technology. 2017;43(1):56-64. doi:
10.14445/22312803/IJCTT-V43P108.
23. Handayani PW, Hidayanto AN, Budi I. User acceptance factors of hospital information systems and related technologies: Systematic review. Inform Health Soc Care. 2018;43(4):401-26. doi: 10.1080/17538157.2017.1353999.
24. Esmaeilzadeh P, Sambasivan M, Kumar N, Nezakati H. Adoption of clinical decision support systems in a developing country: Antecedents and outcomes of physician’s threat to perceived professional autonomy. Int J Med Inform. 2015;84(8):548-60. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2015.03.007.
25. Lakbala P, Dindarloo K. Physicians’ perception and attitude toward electronic medical record. Springerplus. 2014;3:63. doi: 10.1186/2193-1801-3-63.
26. Ward R. The application of technology acceptance and diffusion of innovation models in healthcare informatics. health Policy and Technology. 2013;2(4):222-8. doi: 10.1016/j.hlpt.2013.07.002.
27. Sezgin E, Yıldırım SÖ. A literature review on attitudes of health professionals towards health information systems: from e-health to m-health Procedia Technology. 2014;16:1317-26. doi: 10.1016/j.protcy.2014.10.148.
28. Ahmadian L, Khajouei R, Nejad SS, Ebrahimzadeh M, Nikkar SE. Prioritizing barriers to successful implementation of hospital information systems. J Med Syst. 2014;38(12):151. doi: 10.1007/s10916-014-0151-9.
29. Fernandez-Aleman JL, Senor IC, Lozoya PA, Toval A. Security and privacy in electronic health records: a systematic literature review. J Biomed Inform. 2013;46(3):541-62. doi: 10.1016/j.jbi.2012.12.003.
30. van Roessel I, Reumann M, Brand A. Potentials and Challenges of the Health Data Cooperative Model. Public Health Genomics. 2017;20(6):321-31. doi: 10.1159/000489994.