Pharmaceutical, health care firms launch RFID projects

IT execs at some companies see RFID as a way to deter illegal drug trafficking

By Heather Havenstein

February 21, 2005 12:00 PM ET

Computerworld - Dallas
Radio frequency identification technology is generating interest from pharmaceutical companies as a way to deter illegal drug trafficking and from health care executives who are trying to keep tabs on medical equipment.
Late last year, Stamford Conn.-based Purdue Pharma LP announced plans to become one of the first pharmaceutical companies to integrate RFID into packaging at the manufacturing level to prevent counterfeiting. And last week at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's conference here, Purdue and Symbol Technologies Inc. said they plan to use Symbol's RFID mobile computers to further that effort.
"We have to identify counterfeit drugs before they penetrate our supply chain, and identify vulnerabilities in our supply chain," said Aaron Graham, vice president and chief security officer at Purdue. "While there may not be an ROI in dollars, how do you put a price on patient safety?"
The Symbol MC9000-G computers, which combine RFID and bar-code reading with imaging and wireless connectivity, will be provided without charge to state and federal law enforcement agencies for use in efforts to stop illegal drug trafficking, Graham said.
The Food and Drug Administration has recommended RFID as the best way to thwart illegal drug trafficking, and several states, including Florida and California, have passed laws requiring pharmaceutical companies to track drug shipments as they move through the supply chain.
Purdue has already added RFID tags to bottles of two of its pain relief drugs, Graham said. RFID readers capture tag information at stations along the manufacturing line.
By the end of the year, Pfizer Inc. will be adding RFID tags to bottles of Viagra, and it plans to use the technology to prevent thefts of other products, said Bryant Haskins, a spokesman for the company.


Aaron Graham, vice president and chief security officer at Purdue

Most pharmaceutical makers have started pilots using RFID to deter counterfeiting, said Bob Goodman, an analyst at The Yankee Group in Boston. But many are struggling with the cost of RFID tags - about 30 cents per bottle, compared with one cent per bottle for bar codes, he said.
Meanwhile, some hospitals are beginning to use RFID to help staff locate pieces of medical equipment more quickly. Glen Allen, Va.-based Agility Healthcare Solutions last week announced that Presbyterian Healthcare Services in Albuquerque will use its RFID-enabled equipment management system to track 6,000 pieces of mobile medical equipment at Presbyterian Hospital.
The hospital projects a 200% ROI over five years by reducing equipment rental costs and labor, said Jason Fahrlander, Presbyterian's materials management administrator.
Twomonths ago, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston started to track emergency-room equipment using RFID tags and asset management technology from PanGo Networks Inc. in Framingham, Mass. The technology has boosted efficiency in locating devices, said John Halamka, CIO at CareGroup Inc., Beth Israel's parent company.

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