But one market that's emerged as a real natural for wireless LANs is health care. Hospitals and medical centers are under enormous pressure to cut costs and improve service.
Wireless technology helps hospitals streamline paperwork, which improves customer service.
But more than that, wireless LANs free health-care workers from the confines of the desktop. Now, doctors and nurses can bring their palmtops and notebooks right to a patient's bedside, enter data on the spot or simply access a patient's condition online. Although other industries are moving ahead as well, we focus here on how wireless technology is helping medical facilities gain a competitive advantage. In an upcoming pilot program, physicians will carry notebook computers along with their stethoscopes as they make their rounds. The 952-bed medical center already has a Digital Equipment Roamabout wireless LAN in play for patient admissions, says Denis Baker, director of IT at Sarasota Memorial.