Hospitals, labs, pharmacies, clinics and other healthcare providers are adopting radio frequency identification (RFID) technology systems at an increasing rate. RFID is being used to track critical medical equipment and ensure its availability, on patient wristbands to provide accurate and convenient identification, and to authenticate and secure medications.

The value proposition of wireless, hands-free RFID technology is becoming increasingly clear for healthcare organizations, helped by the growing availability of standardized, cost-effective products and systems. However, RFID is not a technology that can simply be plugged in to produce immediate benefits. The most effective uses of RFID involve process changes, which require healthcare providers to develop appropriate strategies for their procedures and information systems.

By proactively adopting an "RFID Readiness" strategy now, healthcare providers can efficiently assess the myriad of RFID opportunities present themselves for patient care, asset management, compliance and record keeping, facility management and other operations. With a strategy in place, organizations can implement new systems more quickly and cost effectively, leverage their investments and position themselves to improve both patient care and the bottom line. Here are 10 steps healthcare providers can take to be RFID-ready:

• What problems can be solved?

• Where can RFID make the most measurable contributions to safety, accuracy or time savings?

• What internal operational efficiencies and patient care improvements can be achieved by implementing RFID?

2. Summon allies. An important part of performing due diligence is to know exactly who will benefit from RFID implementation beyond primary stakeholders. What potential exists for other departments? Identify all the primary constituents and educate them on the benefits of RFID.

3. Assemble the troops. A critical first step in getting ready to deploy an RFID strategy is to enlist the right support. Start at the top. Secure buy-in from upper management. Keep in mind that RFID-enabled systems can affect an entire operation – including admitting, billing, materials management, laboratory and patient care. Create a decision-making committee and choose a senior manager to lead this group. Engaging allies early will build the support needed to sustain your RFID initiative over the long term.

4. Know the processes. Take a long, honest look at your current processes. Supplementing current manual processes or automated systems with RFID is only effective if problem areas are successfully pinpointed. Organizations will be in a better position to extract the full value of their RFID investment if they identify how their needs change and set measurable improvement goals. For example, in materials management, evaluate how materials are received, dispensed, counted and reordered, and the frequency of out-of-stocks. Consider the manner in which each of these processes is currently handled. This assessment will help uncover inefficiencies and where RFID could have a real positive effect. For patient care, determine how often patient wristband information is accessed and updated, including how many times it is manually transcribed. This exercise could provide valuable insight to where fast, accurate RFID data collection could be beneficial.

6. Envision the future. Set high-level milestones for what your operations will look like by 2010, and even 2020. Be realistic about what can be accomplished in the initial phases of RFID implementation. Preliminary focus can include wristbands and staff ID badges, or security for high-risk narcotics. Planning small, concrete projects will lead to wider RFID adoption and utility throughout the organization. Focus on the low-hanging fruit first.

7. Understand the technology. Invite RFID hardware, software and integration partners to show their capabilities. Challenge them to show how their offerings will help you achieve your business vision. Make sure to examine all parts of the solution. Find partners who know the technologies and understand the healthcare environment. A good partner can help measure the return on investment to enable future process improvements and achieve business goals.

9. Prepare for deployment. Ready. Aim. Fire! There are a number of factors that influence the RFID solution decision-making process. Before the trigger is pulled, ensure that all the critical areas that must be addressed prior to implementation of an RFID system have been examined.