Memorial University Medical Center, a two-state healthcare organisation serving southeast Georgia and southern South Carolina, has implemented RF Assure detection systems in all of its operating rooms to prevent retained surgical instruments.
The system features a soft detection mat, which is installed on the surgical table and which automatically scans the surgical site. It then alerts operating room staff if any material fitted with a radiofrequency tag remain inside a patient’s body following a surgical procedure.
The hospital is using the system as an adjunct to the standard practice of the manual counting of surgical materials.
With the automatic detection ability of the system, clinicians are able to prevent retained surgical instruments, unnecessary X-rays and repeat surgeries, lowering anaesthesia time.
Memorial Health president and CEO Maggie Gill said implementing radiofrequency detection technology to eliminate incidences of retained objects was a key step to prevent errors.