RFID in the critical care environment: is IT safe?

Dr. Erik Jan van Lieshout is a consultant in Internal Medicine and an European board certified critical care physician in the Academic Medical Centre (AMC) of the University of Amsterdam. He was previously trained as a flight surgeon in the Royal Netherlands Air Force. He is head of the Mobile Intensive Care Unit of the AMC and chairman of the Intensive Care transport committee of Dutch Society of Intensive Care Medicine. His scientific research focuses on the technical and clinical aspects of IC transport and on mobility in healthcare in general.

The Academic Medical Center (AMC) is the most prominent medical center in the Netherlands and one of the largest hospitals. The AMC complex houses the university hospital and the medical faculty of the University of Amsterdam, as well the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience and the medical department of the Royal Tropical Institute. Also a number of biotech companies - partly AMC spin-offs - are located on the premises. This concentration of expertise makes the AMC 'more than just a university hospital' and provides a breeding ground for fruitful scientific collaboration.

The AMC officially has 1,002 beds. Each year 25,000 patients are admitted; there are 35,000 day admissions and over 350,000 outpatient visits. The AMC has close historical ties to the city of Amsterdam. It also holds a distinguished position in the art world.