By Gemma Simpson, 24 August 2007 15:33
NEWS
RFID technology has significant benefits for the tracking of assets and patients in hospitals - but the cost is still high especially when compared to barcodes, according to research house Frost & Sullivan.
RFID tracking can save hospitals time and money which could be wasted looking for lost gear, with hospitals spending around 20 per cent of their capital on easily movable equipment, according to a Frost & Sullivan report.
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But, when compared to barcoding, RFID technology is a costly option for many hospitals and so could be used in conjunction with barcodes to keep costs down, the report said.
Sachin Thukral, research analyst at Frost & Sullivan, said there is a great need to locate people and equipment in hospitals in a timely manner.
Even as RFID technology matures, Thukral added, it is likely barcoding will continue to offer hospitals a proven, efficient and more cost-effective means of capturing data for a variety of applications.
RFID is more durable, accurate and reusable when compared to barcodes but it loses out because of the high cost and unproven ROI of the tags and other associated hardware, according to the Advances in RFID for Healthcare Applications report.
Both barcoding and RFID technologies should be used together to work towards an effective tracking system, the report recommends.
RFID tagging has recently been piloted in a UK hospital, with hospitals in Germany and New York already tagging their patients in the hope of reducing the number of clinical errors.
Comments
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1. Joe H. Jiner
This article is right down the middle, should I use or not use RFID. If I were looking at this technology for my use, this article just scared me away because of cost. RFID is a great technology but its costs are high. I think articles that focus on cost is keeping end users away from looking deeper into the technology. What is the cost of RFID?
Having 8 yrs experience with RFID and another 16 yrs with bar codes, do not compare price between the two technologies. Compare their capabilities. I agree that both technologies can work together to gain better efficiencies.
Before you can evaluate the cost of RFID, can the application be served by any other technology and provide the same result, or better results. There is a process to follow and a ROI identified. What I have found is that end users either do not have or will not share the true costs to internal errors such as missed placed assets, lost assets and inventory being sent to wrong location. What are the true dollars for these inefficiencies? This would include both hard and soft dollars. There is a value in soft dollars but no one that I have talked to wants to confirm this value to the organization.
The value of RFID and Bar Code is the result that is delivered. Which technology delivers the best performance? Define performance value, and the value to the end user, now you can evaluate cost. RFID is does not have a higher cost than other technologies. Explore the technology, work with it, and test drive it. Well, does it deliver to your specifications and requirements? You will never know until you follow the process.