RFID use is expanding in healthcare. How do you see it improving patient safety and clinician efficiency?

Anthony:

I believe RFID will be a critical tool for us in the healthcare space to improve medication distribution and administration safety. As a user of RFID tags and scanning for the perioperative space, the technology has proven to be effective in monitoring the right medication, dose, and quantity. Clinician involvement will also allow for more efficiencies with better time management around handling and checking medications and improve inventory tracking while reducing the rates of human error that we see today.

What are the current challenges in adopting RFID in healthcare?

Anthony:

Time and resources are notorious constraints when adopting new technology, particularly RFID. As a result, we are late adopters using RFID tags and automation in healthcare. It will require greater awareness and seamless integration of the current technology into standard workflows to increase utilization. I believe this will come with more competition and manufacturers adopting RFID tags on medication labels.

Where do you see the future of RFID in healthcare?

Anthony:

An RFID tag will likely, at some point, become a standard part of the medication package. This technology will enhance our inventory visibility and enable the ease of tracking and monitoring of medications for departments across all patient care areas, not just Pharmacy. I also see this becoming part of the recommendation from compliance agencies to improve DSCSA compliance and speed up the tracking of recalled medications. RFID-embedded medication will likely become the standard in supply chain management, offering financial and operational performance optimization for years to come.