RFID Technology and Multi-Agent Approaches in Healthcare

Abstract

Every year, thousands of people die because of medical errors For example, in 2004 it was estimated that each year, more than 98,000 people die because of medical mistakes in the US, according to the Institute of Medicine, while in the United Kingdom the number is 40,000, according to the British Medical Journal In 2005, according to a European Commission report, the number of deaths due to medical errors in the US was higher than the total number of persons who died of breast cancer, AIDS or car accidents A study conducted by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices in the United States indicated that approximately 25% of hospital patients had adverse reactions to medications; in many cases they could have been prevented or alleviated Also, such side effects are registered in patients undergoing primary care, but there are not too many studies in this direction In its 2008 annual report to Congress, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported that preventable medical injuries are growing each year by 1 percent (Crowley & Nalder, 2009) An investigation conducted by Hearst Media Corporation showed that nearly 200,000 people die each year from medical errors and hospital infections throughout the US (Hearst, 2009) Many of these errors can be avoided by using information technology But in 2004 only 3% of the 64,000 US hospitals had integrated a hospital information system (Hospital Information System HIS) to allow the management of patient records The medical history of a patient is very important for his diagnosis and for setting an appropriate therapy Unfortunately, for the moment, in many countries, keeping a patient's medical records is carried out at the general practitioner’s level and healthcare units in which the patient has performed medical examinations So, there is no complete data set comprising all the medical information about a patient and allowing quick access to the patient's complete medical history In certain situations, for example, whether the patient has suffered an accident and he/she is unconscious, the emergency medical personnel do not have access to medical information concerning that patient RFID technology provides a solution for enabling the access of medical personnel to the patient’s medical history, by using a device (RFID tag) that allows storing relevant medical information related to its carrier, which provides a quick access to the actual health state of a patient and helps the medical staff to take the best decisions, especially in case of emergency Thus, the risk of administrating wrong medication is highly reduced Also, multi-agent systems offer the framework for the collection and integration of heterogeneous information distributed in different healthcare specific systems to get access to the patient's complete medical history