The Adoption of RFID Technology - Assignment Example

The adoption of RFID technology in the healthcare sector has gained more publicity because of its potential to enhance the productivity and process of tracking patients and medical instruments (Goundrey-Smith, 2012).

The pivotal reasons behind the adoption are high operating costs and numerous stakeholders for the delivery of services. One way to overcome these challenges is the effective use of RFIDCovered cost-benefits of the RFID are labor cost savings, reduction of inventory, reduction of capital expense, increase patient management, and reduced operating cost. RFID provides accurate inventory. The replacement cost of the lab supplies can be reduced by RFID. Unnecessary rush orders and lost equipment can hamper the cost-benefit of healthcare.

The cost of RFID technology is higher. The stolen or misplaced equipment means lost data and is time-consuming. Access to lost clinical and financial records can be expensive. The ease of use of use of RFID applications in healthcare makes the process of tracking equipment and inventory quite easier (McDonnell & Sheard, 2012). It helps to provide accurate information about each item that is being tracked. The tracking of medical instruments is much more secure and efficient. The possibility of human error is reduced by the use of RFID.

It is an automated technology that can quickly capture multiple assets with a single pass. Some problems in hardware can lead to lost financial and clinical data. The use of RFID can be expensive for small enterprises. Consumer privacy use of RFID in healthcare helps to provide better protection to vulnerable patients. RFID wristbands are provided to patients to track their movement in the facility. The privacy of the consumers is recorded in the RFID tags. The common problem of RFID is tag collision.

All the information of the patients is stored in the RFID chip and can only be viewed through company scanners. Some of the RFID tags that are used in healthcare can be readable approximately 100 meters. This eventually raises privacy concerns. Sensitive information can be collected by any unwilling source. Short-term effects and long-term effects of the use of RFID technology can be highly adaptable and it can help to manage mobile assets. In the healthcare industry, it is vital to implement technology that can provide better accuracy and reduce error-proofing processes.

Both short and long-term benefits of the application of RFID are to provide better protection to patients and increase revenue by reduction of lost supplies and replacement costs. RFID technology can be expensive on a short-term basis. The high evolution of technology can replace RFID in the future.