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Highlights From the Fifth RFID Academic Convocation
Post a Comment!The fifth RFID Academic Convocation, held in conjunction with RFID Journal LIVE! 2007, focused on the health-care industry. Top executives from several end-user companies addressed the convocation in the morning, with researchers presenting papers in the afternoon. Highlights of the event, provided by Stephen Miles, a researcher at MIT and a member of the organizing committee, are presented below. For the complete agenda and a list of experts who participated, click here.
Business Requirements for Transforming the Health-Care Supply Chain
Carolyn Walton, Wal-Mart's vice president of information systems, discussed the need for change in health-care costs. As the "baby-boomer" generation faces retirement, she said, the pressures of declining reimbursements will further squeeze health-care providers. Walton cited a recent study from McKesson, which found that 45 percent of a hospital's operating costs are tied up in inventories of supplies, drugs, consumables and other items, while administration consumes 25 percent of revenue. This presents an opportunity for rationalization through the use of supply-chain best practices. Carolyn noted that in many instances, the hospital industry has yet to adopt bar codes. In an industry where medical errors affect 1.5 million people and cost $3.5 billion per year, there is tremendous room to make improvements using RFID in hospitals today.
Ron Bone, McKesson's senior vice president of distribution planning, provided an update on e-pedigree regulations, in response to California's electronic pedigree (e-pedigree) initiative. Ron also outlined recent activities of EPCglobal's Healthcare and Life Sciences (HLS) Interest Group to support a standardized interface for e-pedigree applications. Ron noted a continuing need for research to move the ball forward in the following areas:
Mike Rose, vice president of RFID/EPC global value chain at Johnson & Johnson, expressed concern for how the HLS industry can build a common, scaleable infrastructure for a multi-tier, diverse supply chain. How, he asked, will all the pieces of the EPCglobal Network fit together? The group discussed:
Leslie Hand, director of global RFID strategy for Ahold USA, explained how the company RFID-enabled its processes for a receiving and shipping pilot, involving item- and tote-level tracking of pharmaceutical drugs from a distribution center to two stores (see Ahold Learns Lessons From Drug-Tracking Trial). Leslie discussed the importance of the HF RF tunnel for reading mixed totes and the picking cart, both designed by the company.
Business Requirements for Transforming the Health-Care Supply Chain
Carolyn Walton, Wal-Mart's vice president of information systems, discussed the need for change in health-care costs. As the "baby-boomer" generation faces retirement, she said, the pressures of declining reimbursements will further squeeze health-care providers. Walton cited a recent study from McKesson, which found that 45 percent of a hospital's operating costs are tied up in inventories of supplies, drugs, consumables and other items, while administration consumes 25 percent of revenue. This presents an opportunity for rationalization through the use of supply-chain best practices. Carolyn noted that in many instances, the hospital industry has yet to adopt bar codes. In an industry where medical errors affect 1.5 million people and cost $3.5 billion per year, there is tremendous room to make improvements using RFID in hospitals today.
Ron Bone, McKesson's senior vice president of distribution planning, provided an update on e-pedigree regulations, in response to California's electronic pedigree (e-pedigree) initiative. Ron also outlined recent activities of EPCglobal's Healthcare and Life Sciences (HLS) Interest Group to support a standardized interface for e-pedigree applications. Ron noted a continuing need for research to move the ball forward in the following areas:
- Track and trace: Strategy and guidelines are needed for data sharing, and it's important to include multiple parties, such as third-party logistics providers and re-packers.
- E-pedigree messaging standard: Targeted for June release, this standard is intended to harmonize interfaces in countries where the government is the single payer, as well as regional e-pedigree initiatives in Italy and elsewhere.
- Process challenges: Retail and hospital pharmacies place orders for next-morning delivery. When RFID-labeled products are introduced, that cannot cause delays in the instantaneous pick-and-ship systems at distribution centers.
Mike Rose, vice president of RFID/EPC global value chain at Johnson & Johnson, expressed concern for how the HLS industry can build a common, scaleable infrastructure for a multi-tier, diverse supply chain. How, he asked, will all the pieces of the EPCglobal Network fit together? The group discussed:
- Specifications for an HLS industry trust model for registries: This includes security, authentication and verification. How will companies know which registry to go to for inquiry about a specific EPC?
- RFID's impact on pharmaceutical products and devices: The FDA's presentation at this meeting was considered an important step in opening a dialogue on best-practices methodologies for testing the impact of RFID. During the "RFID Research in Health Care" session, for instance, Seth Seidman—an electrical engineer at the FDA's Center for Devices of Radiological Health—discussed the electromagnetic compatibility of pacemakers and implantable cardiac defibrillators exposed to RFID readers.
- The need for an analysis of how and when to inference data for e-pedigree and supply-chain optimization: In the absence of 100 percent tag reads, at what point does it make sense to take custody of goods in the e-pedigree process?
- Medication compliance: "Right patient, right product, right dose, right time," Mike said, noting that the long-term promise of RFID to improve patient care is subject to privacy and security measures being put in place.
Leslie Hand, director of global RFID strategy for Ahold USA, explained how the company RFID-enabled its processes for a receiving and shipping pilot, involving item- and tote-level tracking of pharmaceutical drugs from a distribution center to two stores (see Ahold Learns Lessons From Drug-Tracking Trial). Leslie discussed the importance of the HF RF tunnel for reading mixed totes and the picking cart, both designed by the company.
