Intel Official Discusses Health Care Information Technology Efforts At Briefing

Main Category: IT / Internet / E-mail
Article Date: 02 Mar 2006 - 23:00 PDT

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An official for Intel on Monday at a briefing in San Francisco said the company has begun to develop prototypes of specialized computers that could help medical professionals, as well as patients who seek to manage chronic conditions at home, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the Journal, the computers are part of a "strategy to deliver technology for health care, a market where the inefficiencies are striking but the potential payoff for the chip maker is years away." For medical professionals, tablet computers could automatically locate the correct medical records when physicians approach patients with an identification tag that transmits a radio signal, Louis Burns, vice president and general manager of the Intel digital health group, said at the briefing. In addition, the computers could include a high-tech stethoscope and camera to share information with medical professionals in other locations, he said. For the home, tabletop computers could include touch screens to help patients with Alzheimer's disease and other conditions and could display important information, Burns said. Intel this year plans to begin large-scale tests of some of the computers and related software to "make sure we have got it right," Burns said. He added that Intel also will help develop standards for computer systems to allow hospitals and health clinics to share information. An agreement on standards for the different computer systems used by independent physicians, laboratories, hospitals and health insurers will take years and require collaboration with the health care industry and federal government, Burns said (Clark, Wall Street Journal, 2/28).

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