An overview of RFID applications in healthcare and medical fields

This article presents an overview on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) enables automatic identification of objects using radio waves. The identified objects can be in and out of the line of sight and there is no need for physical contact with them.RFID technology is deployed in a wide range of industries such as supply chain management, inventory control, farming (to track animals), e-Passports, the tracking of humans (in prisons and hospitals) and in healthcare. The three key elements of an RFID system are the tags, readers and the backend server. Tags are devices physically attached to objects and readers (wired or mobile) recognize the presence of objects in its range. RFID system opens up a world of possible applications in medical arena (healthcare) such as the tracking of humans in hospital patient identification, locate medical equipment and the technological feasibility of such implants for locating and tracking persons for remotely controlling human biological functions. However, the reality of RFID adoption in healthcare is far behind earlier expectation. We aim to identify the common applications, potential benefits, barriers, and critical success factors.

Keywords:

RFID Technology , Healthcare System , RFID , Health