One in ten RFID Micro-Chipping projects tag humans
Pastor Dale Morgan
*One in ten RFID Micro-Chipping projects tag humans*
Suzanne Tindal, ZDNet Australia
22 January 2008 04:11 PM
The percentage of worldwide radio frequency identification (RFID)
projects concerning tagging people has increased from eight percent to
11 percent over the last year, according to new research -- with the
healthcare sector set to see the benefits.
Although privacy concerns have been aired over passports being
RFID-tagged, let alone people, according to the report by RFID
researcher ID TechEx, people should consider the benefits before
becoming too concerned.
The health sector is already taking up people-tagging, the ID TechEx
report says, where it allows nurses to radio their location if they are
being assaulted, reduce mother baby mismatches and baby theft, help
severe diabetics with getting correct treatment, and monitoring
disoriented elderly patients without the need for a dedicated member of
staff.
However Phillip Allen, analyst at research firm IDC, told ZDNet
Australia that RFID does not seem to have gained a foothold in the
Australian healthcare industry, and is unlikely to do so in the future.
"The healthcare sector in Australia is classified as a late adopter of
IT," Allen said, adding healthcare organisations are struggling to fund
the "stock standard areas of IT", and are unlikely invest in
forward-looking technologies such as RFID.
"They have been technology laggards and under-investing in technology
for over a decade," he said.
Allen said that even if healthcare organisations were to consider
people-tagging, the resulting data could pose a problem. "They don't
have the systems in place to manage that volume of information," he said.
One exception is Rockhampton hospital, where Allen said nurses are given
an RFID pendant to allow the hospital to monitor their location.
Despite the likely slow uptake in the Australian healthcare industry,
the country is proving an enthusiastic adopter overall. According to ID
TechEx, Australia clocked up the seventh largest number of new RFID
projects worldwide.