RFID tags tested in tracking medicines in supply chain
28 November 2006 Dublin, Ohio, USA. Cardinal Health, Inc., has
completed a real-world pilot test of RFID tags for automatic tracking of
medicines in the packaging and distribution chain. The
technology has the potential to improve the safety and efficiency of pharmaceutical supply chains. The pilot program tested whether
ultra-high frequency (UHF) radio frequency identification (RFID) tags could
be applied, encoded and read at normal production speeds during packaging
and distribution of pharmaceuticals. Verifying the authenticity of
medications along each step of the distribution process adds an additional
layer of security to lessen the chance of counterfeit pharmaceuticals
entering the supply chain. It is also hoped that RFID data could make the
supply process more efficient. "Cardinal Health's test of RFID under
real-world conditions has demonstrated that the technology has real promise
to provide an added layer of safety," said Renard Jackson, vice president
and general manager of global packaging services for Cardinal Health. "While
our pilot demonstrated that using UHF RFID technology at the unit, case &
pallet level is feasible for track and trace purposes, a great deal of
additional work needs to be undertaken by stakeholders across the industry
to address significant challenges including global standards, privacy
concerns and the safe handling of biologics. Until those challenges are
addressed, direct distribution of medicine continues to be the best
near-term approach to maintain the highest levels of security and efficiency
in the pharmaceutical supply chain." RFID labelling and online encoding
Data collected from the pilot suggest that it is feasible for RFID tags to
be inlaid into existing FDA-approved pharmaceutical label stock, and the
tags can be applied and encoded on packaging lines at normal operational
speeds. Online encoding yields were 95% to 97% and fine
tuning of the process is expected to produce yields that approach 100
percent. The RFID tag application and encoding requires minimal adjustments
to current labelling and packaging lines. RFID read rates Unit-level read
rate data varied widely depending on the locations and type of reading
stations throughout the supply chain. Highly reliable unit-level read rates
in excess of 96% were found when reading individual cases one at a
time and when reading units mixed with other products in tote containers
prepared for delivery to a pharmacy. However, as expected, unit-level read
rates were not found to be reliable when attempting to read units within a
full pallet of product. While not 100% in all situations,
case-level data were found to be more reliable during full pallet reads. The
combination of business process changes, and further hardware tuning is
expected to improve the reliability of case tag reads to 100%. However, further tests are needed to prove this hypothesis. In preparation
for delivery to the pharmacy, individual bottles are "picked" and placed in
tote containers with other products that did not have RFID tags. The
unit-level read rates from the tote containers being read during the quality
control phase were acceptable for track and trace. Additional unit-level
read rates while the product was in the tote containers were not found to be
reliable during subsequent reading stations at the shipping dock of the
distribution centre and the receiving doors at the pharmacy. Pilot program
read rate data Cardinal Health's RFID pilot program tested many different
possible reading stations throughout the supply chain. While the company
expected that some reading stations would not achieve acceptable read rates,
the lack of hard data in the marketplace led program planners to measure all
possible scenarios. RFID Pilot Program Conclusions Overall data collected
by Cardinal Health supports the theory that RFID technology using UHF as a
single frequency at the unit, case and pallet levels is feasible for track
and trace. However, several challenges remain before it can be adopted
industry-wide. Some of those challenges include:
- Technology and process improvements to achieve:
- Case-level reads in excess of 99% at all case reading stations;
- Unit-level read rates in excess of 99% when reading from tote
containers at the distribution centre and pharmacy locations;
- Allowing unit-level "inference" to become acceptable practice in the
normal distribution process at stages where unit-level read rates are
unreliable, but case level reads approach 100%;
- Barcode technology to be used as complementary and redundant
technology to RFID;
- Management of the cost impact to implement and sustain the
technology; and
- Improved collaboration across the industry to identify opportunities
to significantly improve efficiency.
Pilot program background
In conducting the industry's first end-to-end pilot program, Cardinal
Health used new technology to place RFID tags on the labels of brand-name
solid-dose prescription drugs, then encoded the electronic product code (EPC)
standard data at the unit, case and pallet levels during the packaging
process. The products were shipped to a Cardinal Health distribution centre
in Findlay, Ohio, where the data was read and authenticated as products were
handled under typical operating conditions. Normal procedures were enhanced
with RFID hardware and software from Alien Technology Corporation and IBM
along with project management support from VeriSign.
From Findlay, the tagged product was sent to a pharmacy to further test
read rates and data flow using the same technology as the distribution
centre. The product dispensed to patients was not in the RFID packaging.
The company launched the pilot in February and completed the test this
autumn. In addition, Cardinal Health is working with Pfizer on a separate RFID
pilot to authenticate Viagra shipments at its Findlay facility.
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