Blog
If You’re Looking at RTLS, Don’t Overlook Passive RFID and Other Notes from RFID in Health Care 2009 – Boston
Posted by: Kenny on September 18, 2009 | 0 comments
Just back from attending RFIDJournal’s RFID in Health Care 2009 conference yesterday in Waltham, MA. In spite of the economic downturn, the good news is that RFID continues to gain momentum in healthcare because it is having real impact on productivity and the bottom line. What was once just a promising set of technologies and solutions is increasingly becoming mainstream. Some takeaways from the event... it seems that there are enough forces to motivate the market away from WiFi solutions. Second, creative funding models are really what are helping the adoption of enterprise solutions along with managed services. The shift ...
Real-time Location Systems (RTLS) in Healthcare: Wi-Not Wi-Fi?
Posted by: Kenny on August 7, 2009 | 6 comments
Just finished reading David Hoglund's newest white paper on RTLS in healthcare. If you are in healthcare technology, and are not already tracking David's excellent Healthcare Wireless and Device Connectivity blog I highly suggest either firing up your RSS reader and pointing it here, or signing up for his newsletter here. You can download the white paper here here. I'm not always a great fan of white papers as I often find them manipulative point of view wise, but I think this piece (except for a couple of paragraphs at the end) gives a very impartial read ...
Healthcare Stimulus FAQ
Posted by: Bill on August 3, 2009 | 0 comments
The fast moving dynamics of the various aspects of the US Federal government stimulus packages related to healthcare, especially EHR and EMR, are giving all of us in the healthcare business great reason for hope and excitement. As we go and talk to customers, our peers and even our friends, we are seeing a tremendous amount of confusion. This is the first in a series of posts that will explore "the simulus," EHR and point-of-care communication. Q: What is the total investment associated with Healthcare IT Stimulus? A: There are two categories of approved funding through American Recovery and Reinvestment ...
Alarm Management Middleware and the Enterprise
Posted by: Kenny on May 3, 2009 | 0 comments
Consultant, "Connectologist," and industry observer Tim Gee's Medical Connectivity site is one of the rare places on the internet that covers the healthcare alarm management middleware space. Recently he published a series of posts tracking activities at Globestar's Annual User group meeting in Lisbon, where he served as the keynote speaker where he brings to life some real life examples of middleware applications in acute care. In his 05/01/09 post Tim reports on case studies shared by three Canadian hospitals who are using Globestar's ConnexALL® to meet their respective workflow and alarm management requirements. And while these case ...
ED Technology – What really works?
Posted by: Bill on April 17, 2009 | 0 comments
For those of you that subscribe to the social networking site Linkedin, there's a HIMSS group that has an interesting discussion on ED technology (see http://www.linkedin.com/groupAnswers?viewQuestionAndAnswers=&gid=93115&discussionID=2683635&sik=1239994537011&trk=ug_qa_q&goback=%2Ehom%2Eana_93115_1239994537011_3_1) The thing I find intriguing from this blog is that there is no clear winner in the category. There are many various suggestions and comments on why technology hasn't worked. I agree with the notion that the people and the process are often overlooked and promising technologies fail. However, in my years of visiting EDs, there is one key need that is beginning to be met with technology. That is ...
Voalte Creates Sparks @ HIMSS2009
Posted by: Kenny on April 9, 2009 | 3 comments
After a very exhausting quick two day run through HIMSS2009 in Chicago, my colleague Bill McKenna asked me whether I had any takeaways. If I was true to form, Bill would have gotten a very quick read from me, but as we finished up lunch, I didn’t really have a fast or easy answer. Now riding the plane back to New York, I take a moment to make some commentary. Bill and I had a bit of hit list at HIMSS and we worked to catch up with vendors who work in our areas of focus: voice communications, alarm management, and ...
It’s Not Easy Being a Hospital’s Mobile Device Manager (PDAStreet.com Article)
Posted by: Kenny on December 4, 2008 | 0 comments
Over the last five years, demand for mobile technologies in healthcare has risen exponentially. Unfortunately, additional headcount to keep those devices under control, as well as tools to manage these critical communication devices, has not kept pace. Today's telecommunications managers preside over an extensive investment in mobile devices, including: cell phones, pagers, smartphones, and PDAs, as well as inbuilding voice technologies from Vocera, Ascom, Polycom/Spectralink and Cisco. It's not unsual for even a small community hospitals' mobile assets to represent over $500,000+ of pure capital costs (and that doesn't include software licensing and on-going operational costs aside). In respect to asset management, ...
