Brooklyn's Progress
December 2006/January 2007

BY HAROLD EGELN

Healthcare providers got an overview of some the telecom and IT services and products available to them during the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s "Community Technology Symposium for Healthcare.”

"One of the most important issues today is the high cost of health care. Mobile technology should help to improve efficiency and reduce costs for healthcare providers. " said Mark Kessler, Interim President, Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. Kessler introduced the symposium at the New York Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge on Oct. 23 with a panel of four industry experts from Verizon Wireless, Palm, Cortel Business Solutions and Verizon Communications.

Attendees learned about the impact of mobile technology. The were introduced to telecommunications advances – technology to optimize healthcare personnel resources, improve patient safety and quality of care, allow critical care decisions to be made immediately even when practitioners are in remote locations, and improve HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) compliance.

"Among the drivers for this technology are cost reduction, consolidation factors, patient safety and care," said Karen Dmytriw, Director, Small Business and Marketing Sales, Verizon Communications. "The whole beauty of this new, advanced communications technology is to allow health care staff to share information and collaborate in ways not previously possible. " she said.

"With mobile extension technology, we create a connection between wireless devices and the office or hospital,” said Robert Handel, Vice President of Sales, Cortel Business Solutions, who has 30 years experience in telecommunications. He says wireless technology creates, in effect, a virtual network even when you’re on the road. “As a practitioner using mobile technology, I can respond to you just as if I were in my office."

"You can share documents from wherever you are. And, you can manage video and audio conferencing. It's the promise of convergence, with real time capabilities to help healthcare providers," Mr. Handel added.

"Palm offers a full gamut of solutions, enabling you to track patients, access their records, and present situations to other practitioners in geographically diverse locations," said Benjamin Borell, Account Manager, Retail and Indirect Sales, Northeast, Palm.

"There are unique challenges faced by healthcare providers regarding issues of compliance, improved patient care, efficiency, and cost reduction," said Steve Rosman, Manager, Data Solutions, Verizon Wireless. "We offer a team of specialists armed with solutions. We can streamline process, increase compliance, access accurate information, offering a great advantage to you."

For information about these telecom/IT services companies and their services, contact Linda Laffan, Verizon Wireless, at Linda.Laffan@VerizonWireless.com.