Raftar Blog

Sales and Operational tactics to offset Health Care Reform- “Taxing” for Medical Device Companies

2010-09-10T16:26:00.000-04:00

The Health Care Reform legislation passed earlier this year encompasses sweeping changes. It requires Medical Device companies to pay attention to a new “tax” slated to begin in 2013 that will impose a tax deductible 2.3% “medical device fee” for US sales on devices. Although 2013 seems a long way off, companies should start looking at Sales and operational tactics now to offset the impact of the

3 Key Issues for Enterprise Applications on Smart Phones

2010-09-10T16:05:00.016-04:00

The recent smart phone popularity has exploded and these feature-rich devices are gaining acceptance in previously unforeseen and unimaginable ways. Smart Phones are basically handheld computers with enterprise level applications and relevant data stored locally for complete functionality, with or without wireless access to central system. Smart Phones can now be used to pay at convenience stores

Warehouse Operations & Distribution RFID- Shipping, Receiving, Inventory Management

2010-09-03T11:44:00.014-04:00

Warehouse operations are generally manual and time consuming activities. This video illustrates how Raftar's solution automates distribution tasks such as shipping, receiving, tracking and cycle counting of inventory using RFID.Raftars solution which comprises of an RFID tunnel (an assembly of RFID reader, RFID antennas) and the Raftar Enterprise Suite can be used to verify large number of

Maintaining Instrument Kits at Hospitals

2010-08-30T08:28:00.015-04:00

Expensive Surgical Instruments Kits are loaned (consigned) on a long-term basis to hospitals and are reused and maintained at the hospitals. These instrument kits undergo a thorough sterilization after each procedure. Following illustration describes the lifecycle these instruments undergo.With the instrument kit lifecycle its important to be able to capture the following critical things while

RFID Equipment selection for Medical device warehouse operations

2010-08-25T11:29:00.004-04:00

In our recent white paper “Reading is fundamental” we provide experienced RFID users and newcomers alike a high-level analysis of the Business and Use Cases to support the RFID investment and an estimate of what an RFID System should cost. In addition to the business case and costs it is important to develop an insight into RFID equipment selection for medical device warehouse operations.An RFID

Case and Surgery Scheduling: Mobile Applications for Medical Device Orthopedic Sales Representatives

2010-08-16T08:47:00.018-04:00

Sales Representatives and Physicians in the orthopedic industry could be among the biggest beneficiaries from the advent of powerful, mobile applications on smart phones and internet enabled tablet PC’s for real time case / surgery scheduling and inventory visibility and tracking purposes. Working directly with physicians and hospital staff in the field to schedule surgical procedures, the sales

RFID System Costs: A “Should Cost” Analysis for Components and Solutions

2010-08-10T18:34:00.010-04:00

In 2005, the RFID journal put together an analysis of “RFID System Components and Costs” that quoted Forrester Research which estimated the market at $12 billion. A “Should Cost” analysis for components and solutions was estimated at $500,000 to deploy an RFID solution - $128,000 for consulting and integration, $315,000 for internal project team resources, and $80,000 for tag and reader testing.

5 key components of an RFID Pilot for Inventory tracking

2010-08-06T18:12:00.008-04:00

For years it seems companies have planned, or launched pilots to evaluate technologies like RFID in different applications like inventory tracking, warehouse and field services automation. Are these pilots done correctly? And if so what are the key components of an RFID pilot for Inventory tracking? A deliberate pilot process is a necessary hedge against unproven technology, with sometimes

Safety First: Factoring the "Cost of Quality" in the RFID Business Case

2010-07-26T09:24:00.016-04:00

What is the most compelling use case to help justify an investment in RFID technology in the Health and lifesciences industry? Studies show that Safety & the cost of quality in the RFID business case are the primary motivators.Business Users often drive the cost and benefit analysis to justify IT investments. Justifications developed by Operations Management have tended to focus on things like

Operational Savings using RFID for Medical device and Orthopedic Distributors

2010-07-20T13:34:00.019-04:00

RFID offers operational savings and benefits for medical device and orthopedic distributors. Software solutions and the mobile platform can extend these savings and benefits to provide better inventory management in the field as well.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L9NMBnzfayM

Five Key business processes that RFID can support for orthopedic distributors

2010-07-14T16:46:00.008-04:00

For medical device industry, the short term consigned inventory model is frequently used to support scheduled surgeries. Surgical cases are scheduled by field service and sales representatives and inventory items are shipped out for these scheduled cases. Some of these items are used and a majority of them are returned. Inventory replenishment, inventory tracking and order fulfillment require

RFID Tags under pressure: Can RFID Tags withstand High Pressure Steam and Autoclave Sterilization?

2010-07-01T12:34:00.011-04:00

RFID Tags are gaining wider acceptance in applications ranging from Supply Chain Automation to aerospace and defense. RFID Tags can withstand high pressure steam, autoclave sterilization, extreme temperature, chemical and water exposure making them very useful in the medical device applications since products are subject to repeated use and sterilization procedures.In the Orthopedic industry,

Maintaining a Reliable Connection with RFID Readers using LLRP Protocol

2010-06-22T09:15:00.016-04:00

Establishing connection between a Client and an RFID Reader that supports (Low Level Reader Protocol) LLRP is easy. What is difficult is the task of maintaining a reliable connection with RFID readers using LLRP Protocol - a robust connection and handling exceptions and errors consistently on a sustained basis. The following post describes implementation best practices for LLRP between a

Who moved my cheese? Opportunities for Medical Device and Orthopedic Industry

2010-06-21T16:24:00.009-04:00

In the keynote presentation at OMTEC 2010 in Chicago on June 16th presenter Shirley A. Engelhardt, President and Founder of ORTHOWORLD highlighted many challenges and Opportunities in the Medical Device and Orthopedic industry. She cited a litany of issues from slower single-digit top line growth now being the norm as compared to perennial double-digit growth rates - to increased regulation and

4 Tips to Avoid IQ OQ and PQ Validation Pitfalls!

2010-06-10T15:33:00.022-04:00

In the IT departments of health and life science companies, the topic of validation is often met with gnawing and gnashing of teeth. Avoiding IQ OQ and PQ Validation pitfalls can be a big bite to chew.At its core, validation is simply documentation which demonstrates how a process (human or system) will result in the expected outcome consistently. The primary area of validation where we are

What will a Sales focus do for Medical Device Distributor metrics?

2010-06-03T13:24:00.009-04:00

With all the different things to talk about like RFID, automatic data capture technology, supply chain, logistics and software architecture the first blog on Raftar’s site is like an opportunity to tell a hundred stories all at once. So I will just start with the recently published WERC (Warehousing Education and Research Council) 2010 Distribution Center (DC) metrics. Companies of different