Use of barcoding and radio frequency identification (RFID) tagging could save the NHS millions of pounds a year, according to health minister Lord Hunt.

Automatic identification of patients using microchipped wristbands is already up and running in a Birmingham ear, nose and throat department (see Computing, 23 February 2006).

Wider use of such systems could help reduce the £2bn-worth of extra bed days that result from wrongly identifying patients, says the Department of Health (DH) strategy published last week.

‘Patient safety is my top priority and this document sets out a clear case for the use of auto-identification and data capture technology to save lives and improve efficiency,’ said Hunt.

The DH strategy recommends that NHS organisations join the GS1 standard coding system to ensure interoperability across the health service. It also sets out a long-term roadmap for exploiting the technology, including demonstrator projects and further work on standards.

Piloting and GS1 membership will be coordinated by Connecting for Health, the agency responsible for the £6bn National Programme for NHS IT.

As well as identifying patients, RFID can be used to ensure the right drugs are administered and to track hospital equipment.

‘We want to be able to uniquely identify the patient so we know we are giving the right treatment,’ said Alex Geddes, IT director at London’s Chelsea and Westminster NHS Trust.

‘If there is a tag on both the patient and on the drug packaging, we can be absolutely positive of the tie-up between what we are administering and what the patient needs,’ he said.

The major advantage of RFID is that it does not rely on a manual process, says healthcare IT consultant Colin Jervis. ‘Because RFID is contactless it removes the human element,’ he said.

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