Title: Internet of Things in healthcare: the case of RFID-enabled asset management

Authors: Samuel Fosso Wamba; Eric W.T. Ngai

Addresses: School of Information Systems & Technology, Faculty of Informatics, University of Wollongong, Wollongong NSW 2522 Australia; Rouen Business School, Rue du Maréchal Juin, 76130 Mont-Saint-Aignan, Rouen, France ' Department of Management & Marketing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong; School of Information Systems, Curtin Business School, Curtin University, Kent St Bentley WA 6102, Australia

Abstract: First coined by members of the RFID community in 1990s, the concept of the 'Internet of Things' is emerging as an important lever for addressing key organisational and societal challenges including megacities management, environmental management, supply chain and healthcare management. At the core of the concept, RFID technology is expected to play a vital role in terms of business value creation and realisation. Despite the high level operational and strategic potential of the technology, very few studies have been conducted on both the importance of RFID relative advantage and the RFID impact on asset management-related processes in healthcare. Filling this research gap is the main objective of this study, by assessing the importance of (a) the relative advantage of RFID in the healthcare sector and (b) the RFID impact on asset management-related processes in healthcare through a panel of experts using three rounds of the Delphi study. Finally, implications for practice and research are discussed.

Keywords: Internet of Things; RFID technology; asset management; relative advantage; electronic healthcare; e-healthcare; healthcare technology; radio frequency identification.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBET.2013.055379

International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, 2013 Vol.11 No.3, pp.318 - 335

Published online: 27 Sep 2014 *

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