RFID’s Adoption in Supply Chains Proves Slow, But Hospitals Make It Work
Bullish forecasts on the adoption of radio frequency identification (RFID) are being toned down as analysts see unexpected barriers to the technology’s progress within supply chains. First, technical problems got in the way, such as devices failing to work when affixed to metal objects. Second, the usual chicken and egg issue faced by new technologies was compounded by the network aspect of many RFID projects: like fax machines or email, if your business partners don’t use it, it’s not very valuable to you by itself.
But apart from this overall lukewarm progress a few years into the technology’s life, health care stands out as one of the few industries where the business case for RFID is clear-cut and adoption is rising quickly. At the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston for instance, equipment losses have been reduced by $600,000 a year while nurses waste less time looking for equipment now that active RFID devices are attached to them. Other applications include the tracking of drugs to reduce conterfeiting or help with the accuracy of dosages. BusinessWeek reports.
Related entry: RFID for Health Care Productivity.
October 9, 2006 Related topics: Supply chain/SCM, IT & software