FDA Approves Radio Frequency Identification Tags To Help Prevent Incorrect Surgeries
FDA on Friday approved radio frequency identification tags that will contain patient information to help ensure that physicians perform the correct surgeries on the correct patients, the AP/Denver Post reports.
The tags, manufactured by Florida-based SurgiChip, encode information about the surgeries that patients are scheduled to receive, the dates of procedures and the names of the surgeons who will perform the procedures. The names of patients and the surgeries that they are scheduled to receive appear on the tags. Prior to surgery, physicians scan the information encoded on the tags and ask the patients for confirmation, with the information reconfirmed by patients on the day of surgery.
According to the AP/Post, the tags represent the first FDA-approved surgical marking device that uses radio frequency identification technology. Last week, FDA approved similar technology for use on prescription drug bottles to help monitor the medication supply chain and prevent counterfeiting (AP/Denver Post, 11/22).