When UCLA launches its replacement medical center in 2004, two new hospitals, in effect, will open their doors. As a result, UCLA will enhance patient care, medical education and scientific research on campus and at remote locations around the world. And I think we're building the first digital hospital in the country, if not the world, that is designed that way from the beginning. Usually IT systems are afterthoughts. We want to make sure our IT systems allow us to use the best technology for the job, therefore we always look for the most general solutions, the most flexible.
Many technologies have a half-life of a year or two.
We'll use modular systems with replaceable pieces, building the hospital in a way that allows us to take advantage of new technology when it becomes available. These sleek units will combine the roles of computer monitor, telephone and interactive video conferencing center. And after patients return home, they will access pertinent healthcare information by logging on to hospital Internet sites. Doctors and nurses at the new medical center will carry integrated palm-sized devices that serve as computers, telephones and pagers. These electronic devices will act as remote controllers to coordinate viewing of X-rays, MRI scans and other medical images.