Spyglass Consulting finds Weak ROI for Passive
RFID Solutions in Healthcare.
Fewer Than 23 Percent of RFID Solutions Deployed
By Healthcare Organizations Are Using Passive RFID Solutions
MENLO PARK, CA, August, 2005. Spyglass
Consulting Group, a market intelligence firm and consultancy,
today announced the results of a comprehensive market study focused
on the current state of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
adoption by healthcare organizations (HCOs) across the United
States. Spyglass interviewed more than 100 healthcare organization
professionals working in clinical engineering, materials management,
pharmacy and medical/nursing informatics to better understand
how RFID solutions could be used for positive patient identification,
accurate mobile asset and patient tracking, and supply chain inventory
management to help increase operational efficiency and improve
the quality of patient care delivery.
Spyglass found fewer than 23 percent of RFID solutions deployed
by healthcare organizations were using passive RFID technology.
HCOs interviewed found it difficult to identify a strong business
case to justify an investment in passive RFID citing lack of industry-wide
standards, cheaper alternative solutions based on bar coding,
and a lack of government or regulatory mandates.
RFID has Broad Applicability across Healthcare
Industry
RFID is a disruptive technology that has broad applicability
across the healthcare industry. Healthcare organizations interviewed
are deploying RFID solutions to automate inefficient manual processes
to positively identify patients, accurately track mobile assets
and patients, and optimize supply chain inventory management and
logistics.
Over the past few years, RFID has generated a significant amount
of excitement and hype driven by initiatives and mandates by Wal-Mart
and the Department of Defense. Unfortunately, healthcare organizations
are finding it difficult to leverage these experiences because
the needs/requirements and market dynamics of the healthcare industry
are significantly different than the retail and government sectors.
Healthcare Organizations are Investing in RFID
Today
Healthcare organizations interviewed are investing in RFID solutions
today to better understand the viability of the technology and
to figure out how to leverage RFID to solve real problems within
their organizations.
Active Solutions are Propelling Growth of RFID
In Healthcare
Healthcare organizations interviewed are focusing their investments
on active RFID solutions for tracking assets, patients and medical
staff. With active RFID solutions, HCOs are achieving compelling
ROIs to help increase operational efficiency and improve the quality
of patient care delivery.
RFID Solutions Not Ready For Large-Scale Deployments
Healthcare organizations interviewed believe current generation
RFID solutions are not ready for large-scale, enterprise-wide
deployments due to concerns about network infrastructure, network
scalability, application availability, and systems integration
complexities.
About Spyglass Consulting Group
The Spyglass Consulting Group is a market intelligence firm and
consultancy focused on the current and future potential of mobile
computing and wireless technologies within the healthcare industry.
Spyglass offers products and services in customer & market
intelligence, strategic partnership development, product marketing
and investment due diligence.