Schon Crouse, a mobility integration analyst at Children's Hospital Inc. in Columbus, Ohio, said the medical facility is gradually deploying Dell laptops with embedded RFID chips to more than 1,000 workers.

One of the first applications under consideration would be aimed at preventing thefts of the laptops by automatically locking exterior doors when one of the devices is brought nearby. But the concept is still under development and has yet to be proved, Crouse said.

St. Luke's Health System Inc. in Kansas City, Mo., is evaluating the use of RFID as a way to track patients at its facilities, CIO John Wade said. But, Wade noted, the RFID-equipped medical bracelets that would be used in the system need to be lighter so they can be worn by newborns. They also need to be sealed so they can be sterilized for reuse, because they're too expensive to throw away, he said.

"The technology is not there yet," Wade told other attendees during a presentation.