Online=20 Directory
=BB Accounting
=BB Advertising,=20 Marketing
=BB Business=20 Insurance
=BB Commercial=20 Real Estate
=BB Graphic=20 Design
=BB = IT=20 Services
=BB Legal=20 Services
=BB Phone=20 Systems/Services
=BB Web=20 Design

Jobs
=BB=20 Find=20 a Job
=BB = Post=20 a Job

Entrepreneur

Not just a bucket and mop: = He turned=20 his janitorial service into a booming = franchisor.

=BB Find=20 out = how

More=20 Late News

Updated: 1:53 PM EDT
Monday, = Oct 20,=20 2003

=BB Mercantile=20 taps Deutsche Bank exec as vice chairman

=BB Maryland=20 Historical Society ready to unveil major = renovation

=BB Iraqi=20 labor commissioners to study mayor's CitiStat =

=BB Profitable=20 Southwest Airlines to halt travel agent = commissions

=BB Trion=20 to open Baltimore office

More...

Free=20 Download Edition for Print=20 Subscribers

Outlook
=BB High-end=20 retailers boost outlook =

Washington
=BB Manufacturing=20 index highest in six years =

Print=20 Edition

Community=20

Events

=BB Med= ia=20 Mesh: A Media Information Seminar

Nominations

=BB = Faces=20 to Watch in 2004
=BB = 2003=20 Businessperson of the Year

Coming Up

=BB R= enew=20 your subscription
=BB=20 R= etail=20 Locations
=BB G= itomer=20 is Back
=BB = B= usiness=20 Connection

More Tips

=BB M= oving?=20 Don't forget the BBJ
=BB F= ree=20 Sales Leads
=BB S= ign=20 up to get the BBJ Online
=BB S= ubscribe=20 Today

More=20 Community = Info...

Co= ntact=20 Us

=BB Want=20 a Reprint?
=BB Printable=20 Version
=BB Email=20 Story

IN DEPTH: HEALTH CARE

Timely care, safety issues spur = wireless=20 demand

Roger Hughlett

Contributor

It's a matter of life and death.

Getting the most accurate information as quickly as = possible often is crucial in saving a patient's life. =

To make sure they get what they need, doctors and = nurses on=20 the front lines in health care are turning to the = latest=20 wireless technologies.

The increasingly widespread use of wireless = technology --=20 from handheld devices to complex databases -- by = hospitals of=20 all sizes is creating a lucrative market for companies = that=20 develop and sell the hardware and software.

This year hospitals plan to spend more money on = wireless=20 technology than on most other areas, according to = Forrester=20 Research, a technology research firm.

Some research indicates that health care businesses = are the=20 biggest spenders when it comes to wireless products. =

"Think about the beeper," said Rick Garrison, = wireless=20 technology analyst with Global Ventures in Phoenix, = Ariz.=20 "Doctors had beepers before the rest of us even knew = what the=20 heck they were. And mobile phones, too -- the ones the = size of=20 VCRs. Medical professionals are in constant need of=20 information fast."

Historical adopter

Hospitals, which put pagers on belts in doctors' = hands in=20 the 1980s, continually seek out the latest technology = for=20 communicating and storing data.

At one time a doctor examined a patient and = scribbled a=20 diagnosis or notes on paper. A nurse translated the = scratches=20 and eventually typed the information for that doctor = and=20 consulting doctors to read.

When computers came on the scene, the information = went from=20 notes to disk and was stored for future use.=20

=BB=20 Continued
Page: 1 | 2=20 | 3=20

=A9 = 2003 American=20 City Business Journals Inc.

3Darrow

Web=20 reprint information 3D""=20

=20