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Disney Applies Technology to Improve Patient Experience  Gienna
Shaw, for HealthLeaders Media, July 11, 2011  Radio frequency
identification (RFID) is a practical tool--often used to keep
track of supplies and equipment, for example, or to keep track
of surgical instruments such as sponges in the operating room.
But a new use for this time-tested technology is emerging:
improving the patient experience.  The Roy and Patricia Disney
Family Cancer Center in Burbank, CA, uses RFID tags to track the
location of its patients as they move through the system. At
their first visit, the patient gets a small card with an RFID
chip in it that's loaded with his or her preferences for
lighting, temperature, color, and music. The patient keeps the
badge over the course of their treatment.  Readers are installed
throughout 55,000 square-foot outpatient facility, which is part
of the Providence Saint Jos