Healthcare Radio-Frequency Identification Market Poised for Growth

The high growth rate of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in healthcare is due to rising issues of counterfeiting, the need for tracking and localizing medical equipment, and enhancing safety and efficiency of healthcare delivery. These are the latest findings of Transparency Market Research (Albany, NY, USA), a global market intelligence company.

RFID is witnessing growing applications in the healthcare industry of which major applications are tracking medical hospital equipment, blood transfer monitoring, patient identification, and tracking medication from pharmacy to patient. The RFID-based tracking of medical hospital equipment is the largest revenue generating segment in this market, while tracking medication from pharmacy to patients is the second largest segment, as the supply chain of high cost equipment is complex and they are often supplied on consignment.

The blood transfer monitoring application market for RFID is also one of the fastest growing markets across the globe, as blood banks need to maintain the integrity and authenticity of the blood bags delivered. And with nearly two million people developing hospital acquired infections (HAIs) annually, hand washing compliance is emerging as one of the major application sectors for RFID devices. When a staff member approaches the soap dispenser, his RFID encoded badge is detected, and the details of the person are recorded to the system.

Owing to its increasing use in healthcare industry, the global RFID market in the healthcare industry is expected is estimated to be worth USD 1.160 billion in 2012 and is expected to reach USD 3.351.6 billion by 2018, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.3%. The RFID tags segment occupies about 61% of the global RFID technology in the healthcare market. In 2011, 3M (St. Paul, MN, USA) accounted for about 15.5% market share followed by Atmel (San Jose, CA, USA) capturing about 14.8%, and Accenture (Dublin, Ireland), with about 12.9% of the overall market.

Among all the geographical regions, North America is expected to account for maximum share of about 50%, followed by Europe (20%), and Asia-Pacific (17%) in 2018. The North America market is growing due to government regulations encouraging the use of RFID chips in healthcare. Countries such as the United Kingdom, Singapore, China, and Nigeria have already mandated RFID in various projects like counterfeiting and citizen identification, which are being followed by other developed and emerging countries in order to secure and safeguard the nation's integrity.

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Transparency Market Research
3M
Atmel