Smarter Hospital Laundry with RFID tag

Hospitals have to manage thousands of pieces of clothing every day—like doctors’ uniforms, patient gowns, bed sheets, towels, and curtains. These items need to be collected, washed, dried, sorted, folded, and sent back to the right place. Doing all this by hand takes a lot of time and often leads to mistakes.

Some common problems hospitals face with laundry tag include:

Paper records are messy and hard to check

It’s not safe to count dirty laundry by hand due to germs

Washed clothes don’t match the expected quantity

Some items get lost or skipped during washing

Clean items are not well sorted, wasting storage space

No clear way to check if there’s enough clean stock

Now, with RFID technology, hospitals can solve these problems and make laundry work faster, safer, and more organized.

What Is RFID?

RFID means Radio Frequency Identification. It uses a small tag with a chip inside. Each tag has a special ID, so every piece of laundry can be tracked. The tag is sewn into the fabric and stays there for the life of the item.

These tags can be read by machines from a distance, without touching the fabric. This means clothes can be counted and tracked automatically, without using pen and paper

How RFID Works in Hospital Laundry

1. Tagging the Linen
Each piece of clothing or linen gets an RFID tag. The tag stores key information like item type, department, and fabric details. It is sewn in a spot that’s easy to find.

2. Collecting and Reading Data
Dirty laundry is packed and sent to the laundry center. A machine quickly scans all the RFID tags and records how many items have arrived. This is much faster and safer than counting by hand.

3. Washing and Tracking
During washing, drying, ironing, and folding, RFID readers track each item’s journey. The system records how many times each piece has been washed, helping the hospital know when to replace old items.

4. Clean Linen Handover
After cleaning, the laundry is scanned again before being sent back to the hospital. Staff can quickly check and confirm that the correct number of clean items has been delivered.

Benefits of Using RFID for Hospital Laundry

Reduces manual work by 40 to 50 percent

Tracks over 99 percent of linen items accurately

Saves 20 to 25 percent of service time by improving flow

Prevents missing items and delivery errors

Helps monitor the life cycle of each item

Improves hygiene by reducing human contact

Makes inventory and restocking easier

Cuts overall laundry management costs

Conclusion

Laundry may seem like a small part of hospital work, but it plays a big role in keeping patients safe and operations smooth. Using RFID tags helps hospitals take control of every step—from dirty linen pickup to clean delivery—without relying on paper, guesswork, or manual labor.

This smart system brings faster service, cleaner results, and better planning. For hospitals that want to improve safety and efficiency, RFID is a powerful tool that makes a big difference.