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INTEL AND MOTION COMPUTING COLLABORATE ON PILOT OF MOBILE CLINICAL ASSISTANT

Intel Corporation (Santa Clara, CA) and Motion Computing (Austin, TX) have announced the C5 Mobile Clinical Assistant (C5 MCA), a device incorporating Intel's software platform and Motion Computing's tablet computer. The C5 MCA is the first product based on Intel's MCA platform and has earned support from clinicians and nurses participating in pilot studies around the world.

 

The MCA is Intel's first platform built specifically for healthcare and represents the company's efforts to better connect clinicians to comprehensive patient information on a real-time basis. The lightweight, spill-resistant, drop-tolerant, and easily disinfected C5 MCA includes features designed to ease the nurse's daily workload, such as wireless connectivity for access to updated, secure patient information and physician's orders; radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for easy, rapid user logon; a fold-out digital camera to enhance patient charting and progress notes, including tracking wounds as they heal; and Bluetooth technology to help capture patient vital signs.

 

Both Intel and Motion Computing worked closely with electronic medical record (EMR) and other clinical software companies to refine their applications for use on MCA. Innovative technology and clinical software leaders included Allscripts, Cardinal Health, Cerner Corporation, Eclipsys Corporation, Epic Systems Corporation, GE Healthcare, iSoft, McKesson, Nexus, Siemens Medical Solutions, and Welch Allyn.

 

To develop the MCA, Intel also conducted a broad range of pilot studies in hospitals worldwide, including El Camino Hospital in Northern California, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust in the United Kingdom, and Changi General Hospital in Singapore. Social scientists from Intel's Digital Health Group conducted ethnographic studies of clinicians using the MCA at each hospital to understand the platform's usage, usefulness and usability in the context of real clinical work practice. Across these hospital settings, nurses and physicians appreciated the integrated handle; immediate anytime, anywhere access to secure patient information and orders; and the docking station that allows them to easily swap batteries to achieve shift long use.

 

The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Medical Center collaborated with Motion Computing on the C5 MCA's development. The medical center is now conducting pilot tests to measure improvements in workflow and nursing satisfaction with regard to patient care. Other hospitals, such as Alegent Health, a large healthcare system across Nebraska and Iowa, is also conducting a C5 MCA study, and hospitals in several different countries have signed on to pilot and deploy the MCA in their care settings. In the United Kingdom, Intel and Motion Computing will launch the new platform, highlighting their work with the National Health Service.

 

For more information about the C5 MCA and to view animated demonstrations of equipment features, please visit the Web site at http://www.intel.com/healthcare/mca. This device has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission.

 

This device is not and may not be offered for sale or lease or sold or leased until authorization is obtained.

 

KAISER FAMILY FOUNDATION PAPER EXAMINES HOW MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY AFFECTS HEALTHCARE COSTS

Healthcare experts frequently point to the development and adoption of medical technology as key factors in the rapid rise in national healthcare spending, with some arguing that new medical technology accounts for one half or more of real long-term spending growth. A new paper in the Kaiser Family Foundation's Snapshots: Health Care Costs series examines the ways changes in medical technology can affect healthcare costs.

 

The term "medical technology" can refer to procedures, equipment, drugs, medical devices and administrative support systems used to track patient information. The paper discusses why medical technology is considered one of the most important factors in rising healthcare costs. Even if an advance in medical technology is less costly than the current approach, the new technology may extend treatment to a greater number of patients or may add to, rather than replace, existing treatment, requiring an increase in overall healthcare costs. The paper also looks at some of the key factors that can influence the development and adoption of new technology, including consumer demand and insurance coverage, and raises policy issues, such as whether we receive adequate value for money spent on new medical technologies and what are various methods of containing medical technology costs.

 

The new paper, How Changes in Medical Technology Affect Health Care Costs, is available online at http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/chcm030807oth.cfm.

 

Snapshots: Health Care Costs, an online series written by Kaiser Family Foundation researchers, uses charts, data and analysis to provide insight into key issues affecting the cost of healthcare in the United States. The Snapshots are intended to help increase understanding of how rising health costs can be addressed and encourage a well-informed and fact-based discussion as policymakers in Washington and across the country weigh strategies for curbing the rising costs of healthcare for people, businesses, and governments.

 

The series is available at the Kaiser Family Foundation Web site, http://www.kff.org/insurance/snapshot/index.cfm.

 

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