Radio frequency identification systems technology in the surgical setting.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) is a technology that will have a profound impact on medicine and the operating room of the future. The purpose of this article is to provide an introduction to this exciting technology and a description of the problems in the perioperative environment that RFID might address to improve safety and increase productivity. Although RFID is still a nascent technology, applications are likely to become much more visible in patient care and treatment areas and will raise questions for practitioners. We also address both the current limitations and what appear to be reasonable near-future possibilities.