RFID Labels On Prescription Drug Bottles

sonik1 writes "The New York Times is reporting that the Food and Drug Administration and several major drug makers are expected to announce an agreement Monday to put tiny radio antennas on the labels of millions of medicine bottles to combat counterfeiting and fraud. RFID labels provide a unique identifier that is almost impossible to copy. When pharmacists receive delivery, they should be able to pass a wand over the bottles and, through an online database, check the history of each. Each label costs 20 to 50 cents."

Comments

The Label is on the pharmacy bottles

[THESuperShawn]

NOT the little brown bottles you bring home.

This will save you MORE than money.This will potentially save you (or your family members) lives as it prevents fake drugs- or at least makes them a lot harder to produce.

The number of fake pills out there is staggering. This is actually a 'good' implementation of RFID.

The only thing this has to do with the little brown bottle you bring home is that it may vist a few cents more (the tag costs like 20 cents, the tagged bottle may fill 10-50 prescriptions). The benefit is that you can be pretty darn sure tha medicine you get is legit.

I think it's worth it.

this is getting ridiculous

[compro01]

RFID tags have a VERY limited range. a few feet at most. to scan someone, you would have to be nearly touching them. you couldn't wardrive for narcotics, like one poster mentioned.

the tags are only on the large bottles that pharmicies get. the kind that has about 1000 or so pills in it. that is about 33 perscripions. so $0.50/33= $0.0001.