Method and system for monitoring the flow and usage of medical devices

• US 8,899,479 B2
• Filed: 09/28/2009
• Issued: 12/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 09/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. (Johnson & Johnson)
• Original Assignee: Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc. (Johnson & Johnson)
• Inventors: Rizzi, Antonio, Volpi, Andrea, Cappuzzo, Sandro
• Primary Examiner(s): TRAIL, ALLYSON NEEL
• Application Number:
  US13/498,425
• Publication Number:
  US 20120234915A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,891 Days
• Field of Search: 235/385, 705/333
• US Class Current: 235/385
• CPC Class Codes: G16H 40/20 for the management or administration of healthcare resources or facilities, e.g. managing hospital staff or surgery rooms

Abstract

A method for monitoring the flow and usage of a plurality of medical devices (4) in a hospital (2) environment, in which before shipping the medical devices (4) to a hospital (2) identification tags (17) are connected to said medical devices (4) which are detectable at a distance and contain a medical device identification code and, upon receiving the medical devices (4) in the hospital (2) store (13; 14), they are scanned to detect and store the medical device identification codes of the received medical devices (4) as entrance codes in a data base (31;28) and, when medical devices (4) leave the hospital (2) store (13;14) towards an operation theater block (9) or clinical department, they are scanned to detect and store the medical device identification codes of the medical devices (4) which left the hospital store (13; 14) as exit codes in the data base (31;28) and a medical device stock level in the hospital store (13, 14) is calculated on the basis of the previously stored medical device identification entrance codes and medical device identification exit codes.

Claims

1. Method for monitoring the flow and usage of a plurality of medical devices (4) in a hospital (2) environment, comprising the steps of:

before shipping said plurality of medical devices (4) from a supplier (1) to a hospital (2), providing a plurality of individual medical device identification tags (17) connected to each one of said medical devices (4) and configured to provide a medical device identification information detectable at a distance and containing a medical device identification code which is unique for each of said medical devices (4) and,

upon receiving said plurality of medical devices (4) in the hospital (2) store (13;

14), scanning said plurality of medical devices (4) with a hospital store entrance identification reader (36) to detect said individual medical device identification information provided by said individual medical device identification tags (12) and storing said medical device identification codes of the received medical devices (4) as entrance codes in a data base (31;

28);

when medical devices (4) leave the hospital (2) store (13;

14) towards an operation theater block (9) or clinical department, scanning said medical devices (4) with a hospital store exit identification reader (34) to detect said individual medical device identification information provided by said individual medical device identification tags (12) and storing said medical device identification codes of the medical devices (4) which left the hospital store (13;

14) as exit codes in said data base (31;

28);

calculating a medical device stock level in the hospital store (13, 14) on the basis of the previously stored medical device identification entrance codes and medical device identification exit codes,

the method further comprising;

providing a waste bag (12) adapted to receive the medical devices (4) and medical device wrappings (5) used during an operation on a patient and,

providing one or more operation identification tags (39) configured to provide an operation identification information detectable at a distance and containing an operation identification code which identifies said operation on said patient and attaching said operation identification tag (39) to said waste bag (12),

scanning said waste bag (12) with a waste exit identification reader (36) to detect said operation identification information provided by said operation identification tag (39) and said individual medical device identification information provided by said individual medical device identification tags (12) inside said waste bag (12) and,

receiving and associating said individual medical device identification codes and operation identification code detected from said waste bag (12) and storing said identification codes and associations in said data base (31;

28) for further elaboration.

2. Method according to claim 1, comprising the step of composing and transmitting to the supplier (1) an order of replenishment of the hospital stores (13, 14) on the basis of said calculated medical device stock level and predetermined medical device lower limit stock values.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, comprising the step of composing and transmitting to the hospital (2) an offer of replenishment of the hospital stores (13, 14) on the basis of the calculated medical device stock level and predetermined medical device lower limit stock values.

4. Method according to claim 1, comprising the step of calculating the medical device consumption and cost of an individual operation in dependency from the stored operation identification data and associated medical device (4) identification data.

5. Method according to claim 1 or 4, comprising the step of comparing the medical device consumption and cost for a same type of operation performed under different operating conditions in dependency from the stored operation identification data and associated medical device identification data.

6. Method according to claim 5, comprising the step of generating a classification list of operation conditions listed in dependency from said calculated cost for a same type of operation.

7. Method according to claim 6, comprising the step of selecting for a predetermined operation and disease of a predetermined type of patient an operation condition on the basis of said classification list.

8. Method according to claim 6, wherein said operation conditions are selected in the group consisting of:

doctors who performed the operation;

types of surgical approach used for the operation;

types of medical devices used for the operation;

types of patients on which the operation was performed.

9. Method according to claim 1, comprising the steps:

generating a list of medical devices to be allocated for a specific operation type, in dependency of previously stored consumed medical device identification data associated to said specific operation type and,

subsequently allocating the medical devices for said type of operation during the preparation of the operation theater.