Pharmaceutical
RFID Report: Cardinal Health Releases RFID Pilot Results
Cardinal Health, Inc.
Novenmber 17, 2006
Test data shows promise and gaps of the technology that will affect
widespread adoption across pharmaceutical industry
Cardinal Health, Inc., the leading provider of products and services
supporting the health-care industry, today announced the results from
the first end-to-end test of a technology that could further improve
the safety and efficiency of the nation's pharmaceutical supply chain.
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 improve
efficiencies in the supply chain. |
"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 Labeling 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 percent to
97 percent, 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 labeling 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 percent 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 percent 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 percent, 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 center 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
percent at all case reading stations;
- Unit-level read rates in excess of
99 percent when reading from tote containers at the distribution
center 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 percent;
- 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 center 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 center. The product dispensed to patients was not in the
RFID packaging.
The company launched the pilot in February and completed the test in
the fall. In addition, Cardinal Health is working with Pfizer on a
separate RFID pilot to authenticate Viagra(R) shipments at its Findlay
facility.
About Cardinal Health
Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) is an
$81 billion, global company serving the health-care industry with a
broad portfolio of products and services. Through its diverse
offerings, Cardinal Health delivers health-care solutions that help
customers reduce their costs, improve safety and productivity, and
deliver better care to patients. The company manufactures, packages
and distributes pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, offers a range
of clinical services and develops automation products that improve the
management and delivery of supplies and medication for hospitals,
physician offices and pharmacies. Ranked No. 19 on the Fortune 500,
Cardinal Health employs more than 55,000 people on six continents.
More information about the company may be found at
www.cardinalhealth.com. |
