JuRen Medical Leverages Disinfection Traceability Software to Empower Hospital-Based COVID-19 Prevention and Control
As we were on the verge of entering the Year of the Rat (Gengzi), the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic shattered the festivity and tranquility of the New Year. The epidemic struck with fierce intensity and spread rapidly, catching the entire society off guard. Immediately, anti-epidemic forces across China began to converge. Medical personnel rushing to the front lines against the odds, police officers steadfast at their posts, and healthcare support staff from various sectors working tirelessly behind the scenes—along with countless others—all launched a fervent offensive against the virus.
The tranquility of Juren Medical, which had just entered its New Year holiday, was likewise shattered by the pandemic.
“Almost simultaneously with the outbreak of the pandemic, we anticipated the severe impact on all sectors of society, including the operational challenges our business would face. However, difficulties do not mean retreat. As a company providing information technology services to hospitals, especially during such an extraordinary period, we had even less reason to shy away. As long as hospitals remain open, our software will keep running, and we will not stop!”
Juren Medical immediately entered a state of combat readiness, with staff on 24-hour standby. Chen Jijun, Director of the Traceability Business Division, stated candidly, “During this special period, we will significantly strengthen and enhance the efficiency of our maintenance services for existing users. For maintenance issues that require on-site resolution, we will communicate with hospitals and local epidemic prevention command centers and other government agencies at the earliest opportunity, striving to secure a ‘green channel’ to hospitals while ensuring the safety of our employees.”
Meanwhile, in response to the potential risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection associated with the use of medical devices and supplies in hospitals during special periods, Juren Medical provided its disinfection quality control and traceability software free of charge to designated COVID-19 treatment hospitals across China that had such needs during the pandemic. This initiative offered informational support for clinical infection prevention and control management, thereby reducing the risk of infection for both patients and healthcare workers.
In 2008, Mao Yaqin, then the Chief Head Nurse of the Operating Room and Sterile Supply Center at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine, approached Juren Medical, a company specializing in biomedical information engineering, to propose a joint research project on the traceability of medical item sterilization.
“Crossing the river by feeling the stones.” In early 2009, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine officially launched a quality control and traceability system for disinfection and sterilization of items in its Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD). At that time, the application of this system was unparalleled among CSSDs across China, even preceding the national standards for the management of sterile supply centers.
“Juren Medical is a technology-driven, product-oriented company, with user and market needs determining our work direction. It’s not that we chose infection control; rather, infection control chose us,” Chen Jijun said with a smile. “We place great emphasis on R&D and after-sales service. Ultimately, competition among products boils down to competition in services, which is even more true for healthcare informatization.” Thanks to this focus on after-sales service, Juren Medical has consistently maintained a user satisfaction rate above 95%.
“To clarify user needs, the sales and implementation teams must consolidate and summarize the requirements encountered in their daily work and provide regular feedback to the R&D team. ‘Market opportunities are ever-changing; our ability to relay authentic and timely user feedback to the technical team is a key factor in enhancing our product competitiveness. To this end, the company invests more than 10% of its annual revenue in research and development,’ stated Chen Jijun.”
The concept of digitalization in infection prevention and control (IPC) is broad, encompassing a vast array of systems and software, with countless enterprises entering the market. Only by adhering to a path that leverages their own competitive advantages, rather than following the crowd, can companies carve out a promising avenue amid the fiercely competitive landscape.
The Traceability Series products are among the earliest developed by Juren Medical, encompassing the Sterile Supply Department Disinfection and Sterilization Quality Control Traceability System and the Endoscope Cleaning and Disinfection Quality Control Traceability System. From their initial status as “niche software” to their current position as a “major market share,” these traceability products have witnessed the birth and development of Juren Medical.
“CSSD Traceability” and “Endoscopy Traceability” are both business-level systems centered on traceability tracking, with infection control as their ultimate objective. These two products can be viewed as two implementation pathways of a single system across different departments, employing the same logical framework but distinct implementation methods to address the most pressing practical concerns of each respective department.
Juren CSSD Disinfection and Sterilization Quality Control Traceability SystemBy leveraging barcode technology and information systems to strictly standardize the workflows of the Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD) and record and preserve corresponding data, this business system ensures the quality of item disinfection and sterilization, with traceability as its core principle.
This system enables comprehensive traceability of the entire lifecycle—including cleaning, packaging, sterilization, distribution, collection, and usage—of reusable items across clinical departments, operating rooms, and other units hospital-wide. It also provides real-time monitoring of the operational status of cleaning and sterilization equipment based on hospital requirements, thereby facilitating optimized management of the Central Sterile Supply Department (CSSD), clinical departments, operating rooms, and other relevant units. Furthermore, it supports information infrastructure and management for regionalized sterile supply centers and allows traceability down to the records of specific instruments used for individual patients in the operating room.
Juren Endoscope Cleaning and Disinfection Quality Control Traceability SystemThe system takes the monitoring of the entire endoscope lifecycle as its core, leveraging RFID sensing technology to electronically record and monitor the complete processes of endoscope cleaning, disinfection, and usage. Aimed at comprehensively enhancing quality control management for endoscope reprocessing, the system guides and supervises staff operational workflows, improving efficiency while ensuring reprocessing quality and reducing the risk of infection associated with endoscopic examinations. It is a business solution designed for hospital endoscopy departments, enabling traceability and tracking management for endoscope cleaning, disinfection, and usage.
The National Health Commission has explicitly stated that the transmission routes of the novel coronavirus include the respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts. Meanwhile, expert teams have isolated the virus from the feces of confirmed patients, further corroborating this fact.
Therefore, as the core department responsible for bronchoscopy, gastroscopy, and colonoscopy within a hospital, the Endoscopy Center faces a high risk of cross-infection among patients when conducting these procedures during an epidemic, particularly in cases involving patients with COVID-19. The Juren Endoscope Traceability System enables high-level, end-to-end monitoring of endoscopes used on COVID-19 patients, ensuring the quality of cleaning and disinfection, while linking every subsequent user of the device to establish a complete chain of custody.
To date, Juren Medical’s product traceability solutions have been in development for over a decade, with clients spanning nearly 20 provinces across China. In its home base of Zhejiang Province, the company has achieved a market share exceeding 70%.
“Maximizing user service is the goal of Juren Medical,” revealed Chen Jijun. Moving forward, Juren Medical will continue to deepen its expertise in traceability products, develop more features that address practical issues based on user needs, and firmly maintain its leadership in traceability systems, aiming to lead the entire industry into a new phase. Institutions interested in the company should contact the financing assistant, Xiao Yun: DongMai_Investent