A merger creating a new kid on the block, NEXT GENeSYS Corp., hopes to capitalize on an $8 billion-plus healthcare and prescription drug market.

The merger will bring together four companies, specializing in RFID, online pharmaceuticals, and other wireless technologies. Announced in August, the merger isn’t complete yet and there has been no indication when it will be. 

Suneil Mandava is the President and CEO of Mobile Aspects, Inc.

How will RFID overcome the barriers that have prevented the adoption of barcodes and electronic medical records?

RFID solutions have the capability to dramatically increase the quality of care in hospitals. RFID eliminates the need for manual compliance, such as scanning bar codes, pushing buttons or typing information into a computer. In the often hectic and fast paced environment of a hospital, those types of manual steps are the downfall to any system. You cannot expect people to constantly scan bar codes in the middle of an operation, when a patient maybe in a critical situation. Because of this, often bar code systems are not accurate. I have had customers tell me the reason they replaced their bar code systems with Mobile Aspects RFID systems is because they had to go back and check the information daily, wasting valuable man hours. RFID technology can make care safer and more efficient. 

The FDA report on counterfeit drugs has only been out for seven months and already at least one group has stepped forward to show that a “track and trace” method of tracking drugs is feasible.

On Sept. 28, a group managed by Accenture released its first report on utilizing EPC and RFID technologies across the pharmaceutical supply chain. The group was first formed back in February, days after the FDA report was released, and includes pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors and retailers.

Findings based on shipping, tracking and tracing nearly 13,500 packages of pharmaceuticals over an eight week period, showed that EPC/RFID can help satisfy regulatory and retailer requirements, increase product security and consumer safety, enhance order accuracy and labor productivity, and increase the efficiency and speed of recalls and returns, according to Accenture. These tests, however, applied to the supply chain only and did not involve consumer-level testing. 

“Speaking today at a conference, top DOD officials said they would like to eventually use RFID systems to not only manage the department’s supply chain but also gather precise information about the deterioration of parts such as Humvee tires in sustained combat operations.”

And later,

“FDA officials called on pharmaceutical manufacturers in February to apply RFID tags on bulk packages of drugs, which usually contain 500 to 1,000 pills, in an effort to combat drug counterfeiting. But now they think tags can support more of the drug supply chain, such as individual “unit of use packaging” for patients, said Paul Rudolf, senior advisor for medical and healthcare policy at the FDA. … Use of that frequency won’t work in hospital settings, Rudolf said, because it is also used for telemetry from medical devices. To avoid a conflict between medical telemetry systems and tags used to track drugs, Rudolf said, FDA officials are pushing the use of tags and readers that operate in the 13.56 Mhz range.”

“Pickberry Vineyards, a 30-acre, family-run business in the Sonoma Valley in northern California, is not the usual sort of customer for what multinational technology consulting firm Accenture has to offer. Pickberry was more than happy, though, to serve as a guinea pig for the innovative wireless viticulture system that Accenture associate partner Bill Westerman was developing at the company’s technology lab in nearby Palo Alto.”

But, you ask, “How does it work?”

“Instead it uses proprietary 900MHz wireless technology from Millennial Networks. It collects data from electronic sensors — measuring soil moisture, leaf moisture and air temperature —sends it over a Millennial mesh network at the vineyard and then via a cellular network to a server at the Accenture lab. There it’s turned into useful information that could eventually help the vineyard increase yields, cut costs, reduce dependence on chemicals and save on labor.”

More technical details in the article. Good read, highly recommended.  

Cathexis Innovations Inc. and Baracoda Wireless Technology have joined forces to introduce the world’s first Bluetooth enabled RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) handheld reader. 

“Before the end of the year, the two companies will deploy ViVOtech’s contactless payment system in a few undisclosed new markets in the U.S., as well as jointly promote the potential of contactless payments using NFC-enabled mobile phones in those markets. The partners said they also plan to team up with wireless phone vendors, wireless phone companies and digital content providers to promote the new cashless payment system.”