By Jill Gambon

July 19, 2010—On Apr. 19, 2010, RFID Journal presented the fourth annual RFID Journal Awards for outstanding achievement in radio frequency identification technology to four companies at RFID Journal LIVE! 2010, our eighth annual conference and exhibition. This year's winner for Most Innovative Use of RFID was the Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center.


Cancer patients have to contend not only with a potentially life-threatening disease, but often with loss of control of their physical appearance, schedules and finances as well. That's why one of the main objectives for the $55 million Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center, which opened in February at the Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, in Burbank, Calif., was to reduce patient anxiety. Staff members wanted to create a facility that would provide excellent medical care and restore a measure of control to patients, by allowing them to manage their treatment experience.

In 2005, the medical center, part of a 27-hospital chain of Providence Health & Services, a not-for-profit health system based in Renton, Wash., established a steering committee from diverse departments—including information technology, biomedical engineering, facilities management and oncology—to define a vision for the 55,000-square-foot cancer center. The committee identified several additional objectives: create a spa-like setting incorporating elements of nature; improve workflow among clinicians, patients and administrators; and maximize return on investment by building a technology infrastructure that could evolve and scale up over time, according to Ray Lowe, IS director for the medical center and a steering committee member.