RFID Rescues Emergency Transportation Service
Since deploying the technology, Action Ambulance has greatly reduced the time it takes to inspect vehicles and has also improved inventory management, lowering costs and enabling the company to provide better community care.
By Bob Violino
Apr. 12, 2010—Sometimes, it pays to ignore the experts and implement a solution when your intuition tells you it can help transform your business. That's what happened at Action Ambulance Service when it came to deploying a radio frequency identification system. The company's CEO, Mike Woronka, sought a way to track assets, improve inventory management and facilitate regulatory compliance, but was told by a number of RFID vendors that the technology was not a good fit, and that it would not pay off for the business.
Action Ambulance, based in Wilmington, Mass., provides 24-hour emergency and non-emergency pre-hospital medical care and transportation services, available to more than a million residents of Boston's northern suburbs. The company's service area encompasses more than 130 square miles, and Action responds to more than 35,000 calls annually from 12 business locations.
Each of the firm's 33 ambulances carries roughly 50 medications that have expiration dates, as well as approximately 800 medical-related items with strict maintenance requirements, such as cardiac monitors, IV pumps, stretchers, wheelchairs and other equipment. Action Ambulance is required by federal, state and local public-health regulations to keep the medications up to date and the equipment in good working condition.
Apr. 12, 2010—Sometimes, it pays to ignore the experts and implement a solution when your intuition tells you it can help transform your business. That's what happened at Action Ambulance Service when it came to deploying a radio frequency identification system. The company's CEO, Mike Woronka, sought a way to track assets, improve inventory management and facilitate regulatory compliance, but was told by a number of RFID vendors that the technology was not a good fit, and that it would not pay off for the business.
Action Ambulance, based in Wilmington, Mass., provides 24-hour emergency and non-emergency pre-hospital medical care and transportation services, available to more than a million residents of Boston's northern suburbs. The company's service area encompasses more than 130 square miles, and Action responds to more than 35,000 calls annually from 12 business locations.
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| At every shift change, when a new ambulance crew comes on duty, workers must perform a full inventory check, which is mandated by public-health regulations. |
Each of the firm's 33 ambulances carries roughly 50 medications that have expiration dates, as well as approximately 800 medical-related items with strict maintenance requirements, such as cardiac monitors, IV pumps, stretchers, wheelchairs and other equipment. Action Ambulance is required by federal, state and local public-health regulations to keep the medications up to date and the equipment in good working condition.
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