RFID in Healthcare: A Framework of Uses and Opportunities

With its potential and unique uses, healthcare is one of the major sectors where radio frequency identification (RFID) is being considered and adopted. Improving the healthcare supply chain, patient safety, and monitoring of critical processes are some of the key drivers that motivate healthcare industry participants to invest in this technology. Many forward-looking healthcare organizations have put the potential of RFID into practice and are realizing the benefits of it. This study examines these empirical applications and provides a framework of current RFID deployment in the healthcare industry and opportunities for continued deployment. This framework also presents a categorical analysis of the benefits that have been observed by the healthcare industry. In addition, major implementation challenges are discussed. The framework suggests asset management, inventory management, authenticity management, identity management, and process management are the broad areas in which RFID adoptions can be categorized.