The Future of RFID Technology in Healthcare

RFID technology can make a significant difference in preventing the counterfeit of medicines. RFID tags would allow tracking of the pharmaceutical products through the distribution supply chain into the retail environment

Fremont, CA: The COVID-19 pandemic had an unprecedented impact on the healthcare landscape. As the pandemic continues to wreak havoc, a significant question around the corner is how the healthcare models will evolve to adapt to the paradigm shift that the crisis has created. It has become more important than ever for the industry to come up with innovations that will help the health service now and in the future. While radio frequency identification technology (RFID) is already identified as an invaluable asset in healthcare, its usage is going to get extensive under the new circumstances.

RFID offers many benefits to the healthcare industry related to tracking, patient safety, and patient care. It can offer real-time traceability of medical equipment, and provide the location of staff and patients. With its ability to capture the data without human intervention, RFID tags help in reducing the misidentification issues in healthcare. It can also help in authenticating patients and medical staff during interventions such as medication administration and blood sampling.

One area of healthcare that could incredibly benefit from RFID technology is pathology. With a significantly high volume of tests in pathology, the logistics involved in the collection, movement, storage, and analysis of samples is complex with less margin for error. RFID technology can increase the efficiency of this process by employing tags that can be applied with a unique ID. It would speed up the scanning process and reduce errors while allowing real-time tracking. Similarly, RFID technology can also make a significant difference in preventing the counterfeit of medicines. With the rise in online pharmaceuticals, counterfeiting of medicine has become a major concern in healthcare. RFID tags, however, would allow tracking of the pharmaceutical products through the distribution supply chain into the retail environment.

While RFID is a promising technology, the installation of its infrastructure and the maintenance is quite costly. However, with the increasing demand, it is expected that its features and capabilities will grow, bringing down its cost. And it would accelerate the use of RFID technology in streamlining the logistical processes in healthcare.

See also: 

Top Healthcare Solution Companies