It’s important to note that the study (abstract from JAMA here, with a nice commentary from Dr. Donald Berwick of IHI here) was done in an ICU with no patients, so although some instances of potentially hazardous interference between RFID and another technology were observed, this data is certainly not a death knell for RFID technology — it only means that some workarounds might be necessary, along with weighing of potential pluses and minuses for especially at-risk patient populations, maybe including those in intensive care units.

This hurdle is certainly one that technology will overcome. RFID is an enormously promising technology that could save money and lives when applied to numerous health care interactions.

Post from: EveryJoe

RFID Chips – Good for health care, but potentially dangerous?