There has been an awful lot of talk about how RFID and other emerging barcoding technologies could have a significant impact on the delivery of healthcare and provide a previously unseen level of accountability to catch medical mistakes before and after they occur.

One of the most high-profile partnerships in this emerging industry is the Community for Connected Health joint venture between Cisco and the HIMSS which stands for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. This group is openly accepting new members who are interesting in joining a community-based approach to improving the implementation and delivery of wireless healthcare solutions. Considering the ease of implementation and relative low cost of setup, the world of wireless healthcare is wide open.

RFID is already demonstrating its potential in the world of retail and the wider world of shipping and supply-chain logistics. A study by Research and Markets points to this new technology as something that could “form the basis of a new and innovative, healthcare related, services.” The summary of the report also mentions:

 

The potential of automated shopping systems, where customers scan products as they take them from the shelf, will increase markedly as RFID technology is deployed – consumers may even be able to access RFID data using a device attached to a smart phone or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), and use it to monitor compliance with diets or compare the salt content of various food products.

While many people will complain that health patients are being treated increasingly like consumers, there is no reason why there shouldn’t be a benefit to this consumer-based healthcare industry. Why should consumers of healthcare not be given the same level of technology and autonomy that regular consumers are given? The world of shipping and logistics has been vastly improved since the introduction of RFID, needless to say, healthcare consumers should start pushing their HMO’s and senators for a bigger push into the implementation of RFID technology in medical facilities.