IoT integration could reduce blood bank losses: Aegis India
Internet of Things (IoT) technologies could make blood banks more efficient, according to an Economic Times op-ed by Dr Rishi Bhatnagar, president of IoT services provider Aeris India. Embedding sensors and data analysis tools in blood banks will enable blood units to be tracked in real time and minimise spoilage due to temperature fluctuations. Sensors in refrigerators and storage units can offer real time information on the status and quantity of available blood. With the help of the IoT, blood bank workers will be freed from "having to monitor refrigerators and storage equipment continuously," writes Bhatnagar.
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Healthcare as a sector is a definite beneficiary of the increasing adoption of technologies related to the Internet of Things . One of the areas where IoT has entered recently is blood bank management. It may come as a surprise to many that due to less than adequate management practices, thousands of liters of this precious resource get wasted every day across the country. Such a wastage is occurring during a day and age when healthcare providers are battling acute shortage of blood units for various medical procedures. Given this backdrop, the significance of deploying technologies that encourage efficient management of blood banks cannot be understated.A successful blood management process works through an evidence-based approach that optimizes patient safety and improves outcomes through measurable enhancements. Such an effort can also result in hospital or blood bank cost savings. However, the creation and implementation of a comprehensive technology-driven blood bank management program requires an investment in the right mix of resources — including support at the highest levels, leadership, and staff education and empowerment.Blood banks so far have focused on improving the donor experience and enhancing storage capacity to deal with the shortage of blood units. Instead of being driven by compliance mandates, blood banks can use a proactive approach towards managing their operations. In order to move towards a more efficient means of blood bank management, banks need to adopt a holistic approach.Through the Internet of Things, blood banks can gain two advantages. On the one hand they get access to data that can be put to various end uses while on the other, blood units can be monitored in real time to ensure that there is no spoilage or wastage due to temperature fluctuations or pilferage. This also removes any scope for tampering at the storage level.Sensors embedded in refrigerators and other storage/handling devices can offer real time information on the status of blood (temperature, quantity, storage information etc.).A gap analysis in hospitals invariably leads to the discovery of lack of real-time monitoring and measuring equipment as a significant weakness. Through a data gathering strategy that works on monitoring the blood bank on a 24x7 basis through IoT-driven automation, employees can be freed from the onerous task of having to monitor refrigerators and storage equipment continuously and maintaining records that involve cumbersome paperwork.The national health policy 2017 raises concerns about “access to blood and blood safety”. IoT can help on both these counts. With blood availability data automated, each blood bank can publish such information online for stakeholders. Banks can also be networked so that requests are automatically forwarded to the nearest bank in case of a shortage.IoT enables blood banks and health care institutions dealing with blood storage to benchmark their performance to allow comparisons of metrics with similar blood banks, hospitals, and labs. This information can reveal blood management shortcomings and identify opportunities for improvements and savings.Such benchmarking data may also be helpful in identifying areas for early targeted small projects. Furthermore, measurable improvements in pilot activities can provide insight and drive additional investment. This can work well in a situation where baseline data are not available, including an explanation of the metrics that will be used to measure the performance of the program going forward can be extremely insightful.Blood banks can identify and mitigate potential risks by relying on IoT. Using insights made available through continuous monitoring, many sources and processes that could bear risks can be identified. Mitigation measures can then be deployed to address these risks. Such an effort falls within the scope of preventive management which ensures that the supply of good quality blood is not affected adversely under any circumstance.Blood banks and other healthcare institutions that are dealing with the availability of blood or other essential fluids need to give due attention to IoT as an enabler for sound management practices. Given the fact that blood banks are a crucial link in the national healthcare value chain, technology-led sound interventions need to be deployed and used. This will save lives and millions of Rupees in blood management costs that can be used to improve healthcare in the country.