MEPS' RFID-Based Intelliguard(TM) Solution Reduces Medication Inventory Costs and Helps Hospitals and Other Medical Facilities Improve Patient Care and Staff Efficiency
CARLSBAD and SAN DIEGO, Calif., Aug. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Ethertronics, a technology company enabling innovative antenna and RF solutions to deliver the best connected experience, today announced that its active antenna technology has been selected by MEPS Real-Time for its Intelliguard RFID Solutions for Critical Inventory. This selection is the latest example of Ethertronics' ability to provide advanced RF and antenna system solutions where high performance and reliability are critical.
The Intelliguard system uses RFID readers in its Pharmacy Reader, Automated Dispensing Cabinet (ADC) and Patient Bedside Reader to interrogate the RFID tags affixed to the medications. Intelliguard provides real-time visibility of inventory, ensuring medications are available when needed, and inventory costs are reduced since lower stock levels are needed and medication expiration dates are properly managed. This system improves patient care by freeing up nursing and pharmacy staff from manually counting stock levels, making sure medication is available, and verifying the correct medication is dispensed and administered.
With the addition of Ethertronics' active antenna technology, Intelliguard is now better able to ensure accurate readings even in the most challenging RF environments. The ADC contains RF shielding to ensure the RFID reader identifies only the tags on medications stored inside, and not the tags on medications already removed but located within the room. The RF shielding's high reflection environment causes antenna detuning making it extremely difficult for passive antenna technologies to read the RFID tags. Ethertronics' advanced RF antenna system is able to offset the shielding through dynamic tuning of the antenna system. The Ethertronics solution also met key requirements such as the ability to rapidly scan across 50, 915MHz ISM (industrial, scientific and medical) band frequency channels, and dynamically tune a multiple-antenna system within 10 microseconds in order to identify medications, contained in the drawers of the Intelliguard ADC, in a timely manner.
"Today, inventory management of high-value, critical dose medications is critical to reducing costs while increasing efficiency and improving patient care," said Shariq Hussain, MEPS Real-Time President and CEO. "By leveraging Ethertronics' active antenna technology, the latest generation of Intelliguard gives hospitals, long-term-care facilities and other health care providers the confidence that they'll be providing the right medications to the right patient at the right time - every time."
"Intelliguard is the latest example of how Ethertronics' advanced RF and antenna system solutions are ensuring high performance and reliability across a wide range of verticals, bands and technologies," said Barry Matsumori, Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer at Ethertronics. "When makers of smartphones, tablets, laptops, navigation equipment, and medical devices require innovative solutions for their customers, they turn to Ethertronics."
About Ethertronics
Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Ethertronics is a technology company enabling innovative antenna and RF solutions to deliver the best connected experience for operators, OEMs, and consumers. The company is established in designing and manufacturing high-performance embedded antenna solutions supporting a wide range of applications. The company's patented Isolated Magnetic Dipole(TM) (IMD) technology has a legacy as a strong foundation for passive, as well as active antennas designs. Ethertronics' technology has been selected by major customers with worldwide shipments well over 100 million annually. Ethertronics maintains a global network of design centers and manufacturing operations. For more information, visit www.ethertronics.com.
About MEPS Real Time
MEPS Real-Time, Inc. was founded in 2006 based on a technology vision that Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) would be a valuable tool for all medications distributed to the patient's bedside ... a Medication Error Prevention System with increased visibility of inventory. Today, MEPS is recognized as the industry leader in RFID medication management through Intelliguard(TM) RFID Solutions for Critical Inventory.
RFID offers many benefits to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries including: reduced supply chain costs through inventory management of expiration dates, NDC's and lot numbers; improved patient safety; increased efficiency of pharmacy and nursing staff; and counterfeit and diversion prevention through ePedigree compliance.
Based in Carlsbad, CA, MEPS will feature Intelliguard at the following 2011 conferences: RFID in Healthcare (Chicago, IL), the California Society of Healthsystem Pharmacists (Anaheim, CA) and the American Society of Healthsystem Pharmacists (New Orleans, LA). For further information, please visit www.mepsrealtime.com.
MEPS, MEPS Real-Time are registered trademarks and Intelliguard and RFID Solutions for Critical Inventory are trademarks of MEPS Real-Time, Inc.