KUWAIT: Health Minister Dr Ahmad Al-Awadhi affirmed Thursday that launching the Radio Frequency Identification system (RFID) was a great leap in managing blood transfusions, as it allows tracking the supply from donor to beneficiary. In his speech during the RFID launch, Al-Awadhi said that it is one of the pioneering technical projects in the field of health care services and is a milestone towards enhancing patient safety and improving the quality of health services.
He explained that this system would contribute to reducing human errors related to identifying patients or mismatching blood types through automated tracking and examination processes. This modern technology has been integrated into Kuwait Central Blood Bank and its eight branches, in addition to all external donation campaigns, with the aim of achieving optimal distribution and accurate management of the national bloodstock, noted Al-Awadhi.
The minister said that this system also contributes to raising the efficiency of operational processes by providing an updated database that contributes to rapid response to emergencies and accelerates examining and tracking blood bags, saving time and effort. He stressed that the Ministry is continuing its efforts to develop the digital infrastructure and enhance innovation in health services to meet the needs of citizens and residents while fully adhering to the highest international quality and safety standards.
For her part, Director of the Blood Transfusion Services Department at the Ministry Dr Reem Al-Radhwan stressed that introducing the RFID technology shows the ministry’s commitment to apply the latest technological developments within digital transformation. Al-Radhwan said that global studies have shown the effectiveness of this technology in enhancing the safety of blood transfusion operations in developed countries, explaining that installing RFID chips on blood bags to encrypt basic tracking data will allow accurate monitoring of blood supplies during storage or when transported to hospitals.
She stated that this technology is a vital step towards developing blood inventory management and meeting national needs with high efficiency, enhancing the health system’s ability to meet the growing needs that come with the expansion of the health care system. Launching this technology represents the ministry’s vision of building an integrated health system that relies on advanced technology, added Al-Radhwan, at a time when adopting the RFID technology is a strategic step towards achieving a comprehensive digital transformation that places Kuwait among the leading countries in providing innovative and effective health services.
Al-Radwan said that the Blood Transfusion Services Department was able to collect about 90,000 blood bags this year, in addition to producing more than 215,000 products of various blood components, including platelets and blood plasma, to meet the clinical needs of cancer patients, thalassemia patients, accident victims, and bleeding cases with high quality. She pointed out that this project comes within the strategic vision of the Ministry of Health to improve the level of health services and ensure their sustainability in line with the latest scientific and international trends. — KUNA