RFID Drug Importation: Development & Distribution ...

HHS Task Force on Drug Importation: Development & Distribution ...

... "Consequently, the tag costs and, therefore, its functionality was minimized. The resulting cheap tag stores only a unique identifier, the electronic product code known as EPC, for a particular object. The unique object identifier is global in scope and acts as a pointer to information stored about the object somewhere over the information network. A redirection service, the object name service, is used in conjunction with the electronic product code to identify the location of information and related services for a particular object. The object name service allows for the location or locally available information, as well as globally available information. The information must be stored in a standard language to enable true automation, which is required in supply chains. The Auto ID system utilizes an XML based language called the physical mark-up language to standardize the description of physical objects and their properties. Therefore, there are three major components of the auto ID system: the radio frequency identification tags, the software backbone of the system and the standards of the technology." ...