RFID Implementation Guidance for Healthcare Products

This discussion paper serves as a guide for manufacturers of healthcare products, including pharmaceuticals and medical devices, as well as hospitals and their solution providers, regarding the deployment of RFID technology in alignment with GS1 standards. It outlines the necessary considerations for implementing RFID, emphasizing that the guidance applies to all packaging levels and is not intended to promote RFID use. The document details the importance of complying with applicable regulatory requirements for product identification and marking, noting that most regulations require barcodes as the primary data carrier, with RFID often serving as a secondary option. It also discusses the encoding of GS1 identification keys on RAIN RFID tags, specifying that serialisation is required and providing insights into the various SGTIN EPC encoding schemes. The paper highlights the need for interoperability between GS1 barcodes and RAIN RFID tags and notes that the document will be updated to reflect new GS1 standards as necessary.