A literature review of RFID-enabled healthcare applications and issues

•We investigate the application, issues and benefits of RFID within the healthcare sector.•We propose a conceptual framework that can be used to classify publications on RFID applications and issues in the healthcare industry.•We then use this framework to systematically summarize relevant articles.•We conclude by highlighting future research directions where the deployment of RFID technology is likely to transform the healthcare sector. Despite the rising implementation of RFID technology-based healthcare services, few empirical studies have been conducted to assess the potential of this technology within the healthcare sector. The purpose of this study is to help initiate and direct such empirical research by both conducting a review of the extant literature and using the findings to provide a discussion of current trends and future directions in this domain. In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework that can be used to classify publications on RFID applications and issues in the healthcare industry. We then use this framework to systematically summarize relevant articles. We conclude by highlighting future research directions where the deployment of RFID technology is likely to transform the healthcare sector.