Why is now the right time for RFID-based asset tracking in health care?
DANIELY: Two or three years ago when Wi-Fi RFID was introduced into the health care market, it offered a standard solution for hospital-wide asset tracking. [That meant] asset tracking solutions focused mainly on departmental solutions in a single ward or floor. But from a total cost of ownership standpoint, it didn’t make sense for IT managers to deploy hospitals with an overlay network. Instead, they want this to happen on the network that already exists, and since the Wi-Fi network is often already in place for data, and they’re trying to leverage it now for voice and also for location tracking, and any other applications. A very high percentage of hospitals are deploying Wi-Fi networks, which makes it a no-brainer. DHP: Are there critical implementation issues? DANIELY: You should leverage your Wi-Fi network, but you don’t want to take your network down. So it’s very important that you implement in a way that the impact of the Wi-Fi RFID tags will be minimal. There are various ways
