Title: RFID-supported medical and healthcare systems

Authors: Lidong Wang

Addresses: Department of Applied Technology, Mississippi Valley State University, 14000 Hwy 82 West, Itta Bena, MS 38941, USA

Abstract: Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) can improve services and management in medical and healthcare systems. It helps monitor patients, link patients with key drugs and personnel, and track medical devices and potentially hazardous materials in hospitals. In telemedicine, RFID integrated with sensors can monitor blood products| temperature, send patients| physiological status, and identify patients| locations in case of emergency. Based on the EPCglobal Network, RFID can track all transactions from the beginning to the end in the pharmaceutical industry, which combats counterfeit products and protects product brands. Information security about RFID tags, challenges, and future work are also discussed.

Keywords: RFID; radio frequency identification; healthcare technology; telemedicine; pharmaceutical industry; anti-counterfeiting; brand protection; electronic product code; EPCglobal network; information security; patient monitoring; medical devices; hazardous materials; patient location.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHTM.2010.036926

International Journal of Healthcare Technology and Management, 2010 Vol.11 No.6, pp.462 - 473

Received: 01 Jul 2009
Accepted: 11 May 2010
Published online: 16 Nov 2010 *

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