U.S. Air Force Awards RFID Pilot Contract to VeriSign, Alien Technology, E. Smith
March 20, 2007 // Published as a news service by IHS
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VeriSign Inc., Alien Technology Corp. and E Smith Consulting LCC were awarded a contract to manage an innovative radio frequency identification (RFID) pilot with the U.S. Air Force Surgeon General's office.
Based at Wright Patterson Medical Center (WPMC), this pilot program will test the ability to improve process efficiencies and patient care services by using passive RFID technology to better manage and to track important patient movement items (PMI) and medical devices within an Air Force medical facility.
"This program is an important building block that the (Department of Defense) DoD can leverage as it continues to pursue total asset visibility (TAV) strategies," said Doug Natal, VeriSign vice president.
"The continued expansion of RFID projects by the Department of Defense is consistent with what we're seeing across a number of industries as we help leaders deploy the technology and reap the benefits of much more efficient asset management."
Based on the results of the Air Force pilot, the DoD expects to evaluate potential benefits that would positively affect inventory, asset and supply chain management. These benefits may include:
- Improvements in caregiver access to clean, calibrated critical patient movement items and medical devices.
- Improved efficiencies in locating and maintaining this equipment.
- Reduced inventory requirements due to improved visibility into medical equipment location and status.
This pilot presents a unique opportunity to prove the value of an emerging technology within a hospital environment and to form the foundation for future deployment models across the DoD medical support network, said Alien Technology. Once deployment expands to additional locations, visibility of the DoD's medical device inventory will generate value for centralized decision making.
"We are delighted at the opportunity to collaborate with the Air Force and industry leaders to validate the inherent benefits of passive RFID within the hospital setting," said Susan Pearson, vice president of Alliances for Alien Technology. "The RFID Solutions Center in Dayton, Ohio is ideally suited to stage, to test and to optimize this system prior to the live hospital test, ensuring seamless integration to hospital operations."
According to market research firm, Input, the DoD is the largest adopter of RFID [in the public sector] to date. The firm forecasted that the DoD total RFID budget is expected to grow from $115M in fiscal year 2006 to $215M in fiscal year 2011.
Source: Alien Technology.