Schreiner MediPharm, a Germany-based global provider of functional label solutions for the healthcare industry, has joined US-based consortium DoseID, the first industry association dedicated to standardizing the use of RFID tags in healthcare. DoseID was established to introduce an industry-wide standard and includes leading healthcare sector players.

RFID technology has been gaining traction in the healthcare sector, but standardized tools for tracking medications, devices and consumables are lacking. DoseID’s goal is to ensure the interoperability, quality and performance of RFID-tagged drug products as they move through the pharmaceutical supply chain. The drugs are tracked across all hardware and software systems—from the manufacturer, through the distributor, to the hospital and eventually to the patient.

Pharmaceuticals can be successfully tracked by serializing medications, containers and devices. To achieve these goals, though, RFID tags must deliver reliable performance in all hospital and healthcare IT systems so that products can be tracked at unit level and across their entire lifecycle. RFID-Labels from Schreiner MediPharm are designed to enablere this and allow for frictionless integration and smooth processing on unit-level pharmaceutical packaging lines, improving the automation of processes to increase efficiency and, most importantly, enhancing patient and drug safety.

The unit level serialization enabled by DoseID surpasses the requirements of the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), a standard securing the US supply chain of prescription drugs. To ensure adherence to the standards established by the consortium and conformity with the requirements of pharmaceutical manufacturers, compounding pharmacies, pharmacy automation services providers, and manufacturers of RFID inlays and tags, a special RFID tag certification also is awarded after third party testing.