Many people believe that the wireless healthcare industry is, principally, the domain of hyper-innovative and cost-prohibitive technologies that many of us will never actually see in any hospital that we would ever go. A common misconception is that wireless healthcare and medically-advanced ehealth solutions are reserved for the rich and well-connected who attend astronomically high-priced private clinics. It is definitely worth mentioning that wireless healthcare is finding a prominent place in traditional bricks-and-mortar hospitals and the results could very well be parked next to a hospital bed occupied by you or one of your loved-ones.

Wireless point-of-care solutions are nothing new, but thanks to almost a decade of innovation and advances, the high-price and technical expertise required to operate them are considered a thing of the past. A wireless point-of-care system allows a clinician or nurse access to RFID patient tracking, positive patient identification, medication management, eLearning and training, project consulting and support all from a discreet portable terminal. Some of the most effective uses for wireless healthcare lie within a patients room.

A report prepared by Mount Sinai Hospital titled “Patient bedside information test in four-wheel drive” offered a substantial amount of background information on the use and implementation of Wireless point of care systems. “The design of the mobile workstations was straightforward: a computer attached to a wheeled cart and a portable power source. Computers on the mobile workstations run the same software as “wired-in” hospital computers, making additional staff training unnecessary.” Additionally, the study proved that this step was a necessary one for Toronto’s Mount Sanai Hospital because “Mount Sinai is now phasing in an electronic physician order system.”

The key innovation in the wireless healthcare industry is that it allows access to vast databases of unique information in real-time as well as providing a comprehensive track-record that is significantly less vulnerable to human error than traditional medical filing. By allowing medical workers access to advanced wireless point of care systems the speed, efficiency and safety of traditional healthcare delivery is vastly improved.

One of the key players in the industry is Pennsylvania-based Infologix. Recently voted the number one “rising star” in the Deloitte and Touche Fast 50 program for the Delaware Valley, Infologix has made a name for themselves by providing a broad-range of integrated and cost-effective wireless point of care terminals. According to their information devoted to wireless point of care systems, “Of all the advances that healthcare is making in the delivery of care, nowhere is the impact felt more dramatically than in the patient room. Hospital clinicians have felt the impact of technology on workflow and patient safety.”

Infologix has expanded their range of digital healthcare offerings by the recent acquisition of the Healthcare Mobility Services and RFID divisions of AMT Systems Inc. Their president and CEO David Gulian offered the details behind the purchase, “this acquisition continues to advance our position as the ’single source’ provider for mobile intelligence solutions in both the healthcare and enterprise markets, and we expect it to be accretive to our 2007 earnings.”

The activities of Infologix are clear proof that there is a tremendous amount of economic value in merging wireless technologies into an integrated ehealth solution that is available to traditional hospitals and medical facilities at a non-prohibitive price point. Point-of-care technology is considered a major investment opportunity as our population ages and our healthcare systems require more work and organization to be done by less people. Automating the database and retrieval systems and allowing clinicians to utilize the technology while interacting with patients will ensure both a higher-level of proficiency and an equally high level of patient satisfaction.

As hospitals and clinics depend on data access to improve patient care and enhance revenue, we can count on the free market to offer the innovation and technology required to provide better care and save more lives.