Radio frequency identification (RFID) in pervasive healthcare

Active and passive RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) technology are available and licensed for the use in hospitals, and can be used to establish highly reliable pervasive environments within healthcare facilities. They should not be understood as competing technologies and complement each other when intelligently integrated in compact frameworks. This paper describes the state-of-the-art of RFID technology and the current use in the healthcare industry, and points out recent developments and future options