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RFID on drugs to get big release
From pilot to product

By Jo Best

Published: Wednesday 27 April 2005

Recent trials of RFID electronic tracking technology for drugs through the supply chain could soon become a staple of the pharmaceutical industry.

PA Consulting has decided to invest £15m in turning the technology used in the trial into a product for market which it hopes to see installed in the pharmaceutical supply chain across the country and abroad.

The pilot project was trialled at 44 pharmacies across the UK for three months and was aimed at cutting dispensing errors by ensuring the tagged product is dispensed as intended by medical personnel and its manufacturer.

Tagged drugs are scanned by a pharmacist at the point-of-dispensing, with the unique number held on the RFID chip matched against a secure database and warnings issued to the pharmacist if there is an error - the drug is out of date or has been recalled, for example.

The trial was conducted in partnership with BT and DHL.