TY - JOUR T1 - Radiofrequency identification technology in health care: Benefits and potential risks AU - Ashar BS, Ferriter A Y1 - 2007/11/21 N1 - 10.1001/jama.298.19.2305 JO - JAMA SP - 2305 EP - 2307 VL - 298 IS - 19 N2 - Today's health care system has an opportunity for increasing its use of wireless technology to improve patient care. From a physician's office to an operating room, wireless technology provides great potential for such services as real-time cardiac waveform delivery, medical device alarm notifications, surgical instrument and hospital equipment tracking, and e-prescription writing. Radiofrequency identification (RFID) is a wireless technology emerging within the health care arena to improve patient care and hospital efficiency. As multiple types of short-range wireless technologies are used simultaneously within close range inside a hospital setting, the potential for interference among them and with medical devices becomes a concern. In this Commentary, we describe some of the current and potential health care applications of RFID and consider the possibility for electromagnetic interference among devices sharing the same frequencies when used in dense wireless environments. SN - 0098-7484 M3 - doi: 10.1001/jama.298.19.2305 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.298.19.2305 ER -