Attitudes of the Staff of Hospitals Affiliated to Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, ‎towards the Role of ‎Radio-Frequency Identification in Care and Treatment

• Main Authors: Seyed Mohammad Taghi Taghvafard, Akram Mofarrah, Saman Ebrahimi
• Format: Article
• Language: fas
• Published: Vesnu Publications 2016-05-01
• Series: مدیریت اطلاعات سلامت
• Subjects: Radio Frequency Identification Device; Viewpoint; Treatment; Patient Tracking
• Online Access: http://him.mui.ac.ir/index.php/him/article/view/2613
• ISSN: 1735-7853; 1735-9813

Introduction: Automatic identification and data collection without the need for frequent human intervention is an undeniable ‎necessity in health control. Among a variety of methods, radio-frequency identification (RFID) is known for this ‎characteristic and can be used for the online process of sending and receiving information. This study was ‎conducted to determine the role of this technology in the effectiveness of treatment and care at hospitals affiliated ‎to Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Iran, from the point of view of its users. Methods: This was an applied, descriptive, and the cross-sectional research. The statistical sample consisted of 72 physicians ‎and nurses of hospitals affiliated to Kashan University of Medical Sciences selected through stratified sampling ‎method. Data collection was carried out using a questionnaire the validity and reliability of which were, respectively, ‎confirmed by a group of experts and using Cronbach's alpha coefficient (α = 0.89). Data were analyzed using chi-‎square test. Results: According to the results, 84% of the participants believed that RFID tags lead to the improvement of detection, ‎diagnosis, identification, and automated reception of information in treatment and care. The attitude of the studied ‎population toward RFID components was favorable in improving treatment and care in terms of effective ‎detection (17.05), diagnosis (16.27), automated reception, collection of information (15.54), and identification‎ (14.8). Conclusion: The favorable attitude of the participants shows that the use of RFID in the studied hospitals was effective in ‎improving treatment and care for the patients.