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Study: RFID Use in Health Care To Increase

The global health care market for radio frequency identification will increase from $90 million to $1.2 billion over the next 10 years, according to a study by independent research group IDTechEx, Computing reports.

RFID technology, which can be used to automate procedures, ensure correct medication and expedite administration, could help save lives, prevent errors, reduce costs and improve security, according to IDTechEx.

The majority of the technology's increased use will be from tagging drugs and real time locating systems for staff and patients.

[ via iHealthBeat ]

Where Are You and What Are You Doing: Productivity and RFID

Many hospital executives flinch when they hear productivity and information technology in the same sentence. Experience has created understandable skepticism that persists even as more leaders report successful projects each year, and IT investments continue to soar. But the last two years has seen one emerging technology document real gains in productivity and build traction that will accelerate in 2006.

Used to track people and property and to access staff instantaneously, radio frequency identification (RFID) is steadily replacing time-consuming traditional technologies. It’s winning converts even among organizations that have not seen themselves as early adopters. Like the e-ICU and voice over Internet protocol (VOIP), RFID is a classic disruptive technology that radically changes work processes and replaces previously dominant technologies.

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