RFID: The New Way to Protect Revenue Streams and Eliminate Counterfeits in the Healthcare Industry

RFID technology is the most accurate, flexible, and secure solution to authenticate goods to prevent knock-off, grey markets, and potentially dangerous counterfeits from entering a medical supply chain.

Device manufacturers invest considerable financial and operational resources to ensure that their medical equipment is developed and manufactured in compliance with industry regulations.  Undetected non-authentic, modified, or counterfeit components used in a medical device pose a risk to the patient and liability to the manufacturer.

It is vitally important too, that medical equipment is precisely maintained and serviced; replacing parts in a timely manner when scheduled and to ensure proper functioning.  Equipment components have to be sterile and authentic to prevent malfunctions.

The use of counterfeit replacement equipment or the lack of maintenance on medical devices has resulted in lost revenue, equipment malfunctions, costly lawsuits, and even death.

An RFID reader installed in a medical device securely identifies each consumable and prevents device operation if a part is not authentic, or if an item’s expiration date has passed.  An RFID tag can be smaller than a grain of rice and its information guarantees the authenticity of the product.

Additionally, RFID technology can be used to assist in the timely replacement of equipment components, such as hoses, filers or other consumables to avoid malfunctions.  When an expiration date approaches, an RFID-based system can generate an alert and when it reaches its shelf life date the system automatically stops working.