Gantry: Handhelds evolve rapidly. How do you see MercuryMD taking advantage of these new device capabilities?

Ying: MData is operating system independent, available on Palm OS and Pocket PC handhelds. Our software runs identically on both operating systems, using the same solution code base. As more phones become equipped to run these operating systems, smartphones will become increasingly appropriate for mobile clinical data and mobile charge capture solutions.

MData employs encryption and compression technology to move data securely and quickly over cellular networks. As cellular network bandwidth increases, it will also be possible to accurately present clinical images on a mobile device. We feel MercuryMD is set up well to respond to the proliferation of smartphones, which is currently on a steep month-to-month growth curve. Six months ago, less than 1% of physicians used smartphones; today fewer than 10% of physicians are now using smartphones instead of handhelds.

So what do customers have to say?
Virginia Hospital Center, located in Arlington VA, needed to solve a problem: the hospital didn't have sufficient terminals at nurse stations for physicians to easily sign on and access clinical data. Selected for its strong security structure and intuitive interface, MData is now installed at the hospital.

Today, over 40% of physicians affiliated with the hospital access clinical data using a handheld and MData. Physicians can access clinical data immediately upon arrival at the hospital via infrared synch stations or wireless network. This capability has proven particularly useful for physicians who are on-call for another physician's patients. They can immediately become apprised of the patient's health history and progress.

According to Arlowen Raygor, Director of Clinical Systems at Virginia Hospital Center, "MData saves our physicians time by giving them access to the data they need quickly. MData has increased physician satisfaction and has contributed to giving Virginia Hospital Center a competitive edge in our market."

While we thoroughly enjoy pontificating on our personally selected topics regarding Mobile Enterprise Solutions, we'd like to establish an interactive relationship with our reading audience. Monologues are not us! We'd like to invite you to send your questions, opinions, and topic suggestions on mobile enterprise solution value delivery to dtroppito@computingunplugged.com. We'll do our very best to respond expeditiously in our upcoming columns. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Dennis Crane is CRM Department Manager at UTrackSys.com, LLC at http://www.utracksys.com.