Bluetooth devices for the optimization ofpatients' workflow in a radiation oncology department

The costs of healthcare administrations are continuously increasing and techniques able of reducing costs and optimizing systems are necessary. The use of information and communications technology (ICT), such as Bluetooth (BT) Activity Tracker (ACT) devices, can expand and improve the capabilities of the management structures. We propose to extend the application of this widespread technology even in the medical environment The aim of our work is to apply BT-ACTs for workflow management and patients' performance monitoring in a Radiation Oncology Department. Indeed, in such medical department working on outpatients based regimen, workflow and clinical control may be complex. Our preliminary experience in using ACT in a Radiation Oncology Department of an Academic Institution is described. The integration of ACT with a novel electronic medical record archiving and retrieving system is implemented. We show that using BT-ACT is possible to successfully monitor patient workflow and biometric data during radiation treatment.