Much of the growth is being driven by healthcare groups seeking better medical data and charting flexibility at the point of care. There is also a move to use mobile computing as a decision-support system, which has huge market potential compared with just data collection. Vendors are taking advantage of faster transmission rates, easier access, and durability to offer customers value-added solutions. In April, for example, Fujitsu-ICL Systems introduced a rugged TeamPAD 7600 mobile computer in partnership with NDD Networks, a leading provider of wireless LANs. The configuration allows two to three times the coverage area of other wireless products, requiring fewer access points, fewer hubs, and less cabling, Slack said.
Nurses update the files using standard, on-screen lists.
Later, they use a wireless cellular digital packet data network or standard dial-up to download the latest patient information to a data center. The new Fujitsu Stylistic1000 RF system just hit the market with a Windows 95-compatible tablet featuring Proxim's wireless LAN radio that can be used to chart directly to a hospital's database from a hospital bed. The product consists basically of a medical software package integrated into a hand-held Apple Newton message pad. The software can hold and revise patient records at the point of care by tapping information into templates. It can also be used with the Windows CE standardized operating platform, which opens up an even wider physician market, Giannulli said.