German hospital tests RFID

A group of IT suppliers is implementing an RFID (radio frequency identification) system in a German hospital -- the country's first such hospital deployment -- after introducing the technology in a U.S. hospital earlier this year.

Siemens Business Services (SBS), Fujitsu Siemens Computers, and Intel are collaborating with Klinikum Saarbrücken in southern Germany in a pilot project that will test the use of RFID chips embedded in wristbands containing the patient's number, the companies said Wednesday.

Doctors and nurses will use wireless-enabled PDAs (personal digital assistants) or tablet PCs equipped with RFID readers to read the data. After identifying patients, they will be able to access a secure database containing details of the medical history and any administered drugs. A public key infrastructure prevents unauthorized access.

More than 1,000 patients will participate in the project.

The Saarbrücken pilot follows a project launched by the same group last year at New York's Jacobi Medical Center.

"The German project will be very similar to the one in the U.S., where we have been able to gain valuable experience in implementing RFID technology in hospitals," said SBS spokesman Andreas vom Bruch. One new development in Germany, he said, will be the use of information terminals, which patients can use to call up their own medical information, such as blood pressure levels, treatment, and discharge dates.

SBS is responsible for implementing the RFID system in the hospital, while Fujitsu Siemens is delivering notebook computers, PDAs and tablet PCs equipped with Intel's Centrino mobile chip set. The Japanese-German computer maker is also supplying the information terminals.

SBS is also setting up a wireless LAN (WLAN) in the Saarbrücken hospital.