MIT's Auto-ID Labs is studying how radio-frequency identification and related technologies could be used by the health-care industry for tracking pharmaceuticals in the supply chain and other efforts. Last week, the organization revealed the creation of the Healthcare Research Initiative to provide research for health-care and pharmaceutical companies to draw on when making RFID decisions. Researchers will conduct physical trials on issues such as whether RFID emissions affect drugs. The research will be done in collaboration with EPCglobal Inc., an organization that develops RFID standards, as well as health-care companies and industry associations.