MENLO PARK, CA – The market for or radio frequency identification (RFID) in healthcare is booming, according to a new report from the Spyglass Consulting Group.

The adoption and investment in RFID solutions - primarily to track high-value mobile assets, patients and staff members - represents a 204 percent increase from Spyglass' 2005 RFID study, said Gregg Malkary, Spyglass' managing director.

"It solves a real problem of tracking assets, patients and staff," he said.

"RFID investments are growing exponentially as healthcare organizations develop a better understanding of the technology and how it can be used to solve real problems within their facility," Malkary added. "RFID solutions are being deployed to enhance patient safety, increase operational efficiency and optimize business workflow processes. Larger organizations are more likely to make RFID investments than smaller hospitals because they have larger physical footprint making it more difficult to track things."

The Spyglass study found that 76 percent of larger healthcare organizations have invested in RFID-based solutions.

"Trends in RFID 2008" presents the findings of an end-user market study focused on the current state of RFID adoption by larger healthcare organizations across the United States.