5 min.
10.4.2019
Traceability of dental instruments - from vision to reality
Text
Jesper Kervin Franke
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The School for Dental Assistants and Dental Hygienists faced budget cuts and therefore needed to spend less time on sterilization, instrument checks, and budget monitoring to ensure time for teaching students and focusing on patients:
– I felt that we needed data on instrument utilization to make fact-based decisions regarding the need for new instruments and how much staff should be used in the sterilization room, says Head of School Bo Danielsen.
Previously, the budget was based on intuition, which made it difficult to predict the need for new instruments and staffing in the sterilization room.
Bo also noted that it was a hidden cost when instruments were not in their place. Staff and students sometimes had to search in other operating rooms.
It is time spent, but easy to overlook. However, every step incurred costs, frustrated employees, and caused waiting times for patients. It also meant that the capital invested in facilities and treatment units was not being used wisely.
RFID is the optimal technology for the purpose
Bo succeeded in realizing his vision through a collaboration with LM-Dental, which implemented a solution based on UHF EPC/RFID technology with GS1 standards.
- We quickly realized that if the system was to be comprehensive, it also had to read all other materials and loose items of value in the clinic, explains Timo Helenius, CEO of LM-Dental.
The research and development team at LM-Dental knew that they had to comply with the US health authorities' UDI regulations and chose GS1 as the "issuing agency." The chosen system is the most suitable for wireless tracking of instruments and materials in dental clinic environments.
Now, all instruments from LM-Dental can be ordered with unique identification via a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) as well as a serial number.
They are equipped with EPC/RFID tags that enable automatic and wireless tracking. Aspiration needles, turbines, and micromotor handpieces are all equipped with a tag that can withstand autoclaving.
The benefits are clear when Bo logs into the cloud-based server:
- I can see on my screen where every instrument is located and whether it is ready for clinical use or awaiting sterilization. The history of every single instrument is also fully documented, including information on when and by whom it was autoclaved.
Optimized inventory status ensures visibility and security
Traceability provides precise data for budgeting, inventory management, and teaching.
- We can pull a statistical report showing, among other things, the proportion of turbines that have been used and autoclaved more than 250 times and therefore may need to be replaced, says Bo.
And the clinic's logistics manager can run a report on the current inventory of instruments and then decide where instruments should be delivered.
The system also ensures that students return instruments correctly and that patients are treated with sterilized tools.
The traceability system includes automatic safety checks without administrative burdens for the staff: When an instrument's GS1 number in the EPC/RFID tag is read, its status is checked automatically.
- We get the necessary data to improve daily operations, planning, and budgeting, as well as collecting big data that can be used for analysis and research purposes, concludes Bo.
In general, LM-Dental recommends focusing primarily on understanding customer needs, as it requires an investment on the part of the clinics if they want to ensure the traceability of the products they use.
The future consists of standards
- We are working to promote patient safety. Before any treatment, our system ensures that we are guaranteed to only use instruments that are sterilized and have not been stored longer than allowed. We are also working on making all our materials and their expiration dates part of the system. It is on its way, concludes Bo.
