Back in December, I wrote about how technology companies were looking to wireless devices as a way to advance the remote monitoring of healthcare. One of the companies with its sights set on the industry’s future was Qualcomm, which has been steadily chugging along with its Wireless Health Program. Read »

Supply agreements are generally a bit of a snore, particularly when the news comes shrouded in confidentiality agreements that keep all the interesting details from coming to light. But it’s worth noting that machine-to-machine wireless communications developer RF Monolithics (RFM) just locked in a multi-year agreement with a major medical equipment manufacturer for its ultra-low power short-range radio, the Virtual Wire transceiver. Read »

Telecom spending in healthcare is expected to increase 44 percent over next three years, from $8.6 billion to $12.4 billion. With wireless applications likely to represent two-thirds of that jump, it's not surprising that HIMSS10 would draw out the wireless industry honchos to bang the drum in support of mobile HIT. Although much of what they had to say you've heard before, it's always worth getting their take on the future of the mobile point of care. Read »

What's a new year without predictions? Toward that end, a trio of Forrester Research analysts has served up a glimpse into next year's hot enterprise mobility trends in a new report entitled Predictions 2010: Enterprise Mobility Accelerates Again. While it's nice to see that mobile operators will likely be ramping up 4G network investments just as IT looks to emerging cloud-based mobility services to better manage the growth in mobile users, devices, and data, the one prediction that grabbed my attention is that machine-to-machine (M2M) applications and services will become widely available next year from most top tier mobile carriers. M2M, you may recall, is key to the success of wireless healthcare monitoring. Read »

In recognition of the fact that the next generation of family care workers will have grown up expecting support services for elderly patients and their families to be readily accessible on their mobile phones, Cambridge, U.K.-based Wireless Healthcare has created a demonstration Web site--AlphaDaughters.com--to illustrate how a range of e-health applications and care services could be brought together and accessed via mobile device. Read »

As you might expect, the use of wireless systems in healthcare organizations has been steadily growing. This shift, which has taken place despite cost containment initiatives that present barriers to investing in new IT, underscores an increasing number of healthcare professionals who now believe that wireless technology will provide improved data accuracy and reduce errors. Read »

One of the great short-term selling points for mobile point-of-care technology is that it allows for the creation of many new mobile health services without necessitating the development of new technologies. As operators and device makers compete to make embedded wireless connectivity a reality across a broad range of products--as opposed to just phones and netbooks--healthcare remains a key proving ground. Read »

Count Wound Technology Network among the growing number of healthcare providers sold on the power of telemedicine. The Hollywood, Fla.-based network of physicians has begun using AT&T's wireless technology services and providing healthcare professionals with mobile devices to diagnose and prescribe treatments for patients with chronic wounds. By combining telemedicine, IT and an evidence-based approach to care, WTN officials hope to cut the cost of care to patients while maintaining the same quality of care in the patient’s home. Read »

Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma, La., is reporting an increase in responsiveness to compliance standards since implementing the condition monitoring feature that Trapeze Networks rolled out earlier this month as an addition to its ActiveAsset tracking and management application. The new feature extends the app's tracking capability to help users meet regulatory requirements for monitoring temperature fluctuations of medical refrigeration and freezer units. Read »

IntriCon Corporation has leveraged Datrix’s cardiac monitoring capabilities to develop a new wireless cardiac monitoring device that's more comfortable for patients and has the ability to identify asymptomatic cardiac events, including atrial fibrillation, Brady arrhythmia, tachy arrhythmia and cardiac pause. Read »