This article focuses on the value of standards and the industry's work to date on an ePedigree standard, track-and-trace and electronic product code (EPC)/radio frequency identification (RFID). Parallels are drawn between the development of the bar code standard in the 1970s by EPCglobal's parent company, GS1 US, and the activities seen today in the EPC/RFID marketplace. The article also touches on issues such as patient privacy, item identification, sensor technology. Last, the article identifies areas other than counterfeit that may benefit from the standards that are being developed today.
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