Signature - Q2, 2008 - (Page 48)

[R]evolution | By Keith Ferrell | Illustration by Pietari Posti | Q2 ’08 Wireless Wellness We’ve all seen – or been – the hospital patient trapped in bed by telemetry wires. It’s important that health care professionals get data how and when they need it, but patient comfort and mobility are equally vital. Can you really have the best of both worlds? With Bluetooth technology, the answer is yes. Experience More Did you know Bluetooth wireless can be good for your health? Bluetooth technology has the potential to pass data securely and immediately from telemetry and bar code devices to hospital personnel, specialists, emergency medical technicians – whoever needs the information to provide the best possible care to patients, whenever they need it, wherever they may be. That “who, when and where” part is crucial and potentially life-saving. The days of general practitioners treating patients from cradle to grave and scrubsuited interns racing through hospital corridors to deliver vital files are fast disappearing (except, of course, from television programs). Among the things taking their place: both formal and ad hoc Bluetooth wireless networks in which medical records move with the patient and are transferred from device to device and among health care professionals. On the most basic level, Bluetooth technology makes things easier for health care workers by getting tangles of cables out of their way. That may not be a medical advance on the order of, say, penicillin, but it’s a major advantage in the close quarters of an operating suite, examining room or ambulance. Then there are the benefits of accuracy and security. Wireless telemetry decreases the risk of human error by eliminating handwritten stats and reports and by automatically alerting nurses and physicians when vitals drop below or soar above acceptable levels. All the while, Bluetooth technology’s enhanced security features ensure that the data won’t be intercepted, a benefit that is especially important to patient privacy. Bluetooth technology gives the gift of patient comfort, as well – as you can easily imagine if you’ve ever tried to move or help someone else move from a hospital bed or gurney while trailing a rats’ nest of wires. (Too bad Bluetooth enabled IV drips aren’t likely – although wireless monitors for those drips are.) The health care promise of Bluetooth technology is hardly limited to the hospital or physician’s office. For patients with chronic conditions that require careful monitoring (or for those who are particularly health conscious), Bluetooth enabled medical telemetry devices can measure vital statistics at home or on the road and relay the information to a cell phone or computer, which can then notify caregivers by e-mail or text message. This latest revolution in medical technology is in its early stages. But already we can see the promise and the potential. Imagine, for instance, waking up sick one morning just a few years from now. You’d noticed the night before that you weren’t well, so you took a couple of aspirin. You used the latest multifunction consumer health monitor to measure your temperature, blood pressure, blood oxygen level, white blood cell count and pulse. Your temperature was elevated, so the monitor transferred your vitals to your PC, which automatically e-mailed your family doctor. The headache and sinus pressure you feel when you wake up become a lot less worrisome when you see an e-mail from your doctor: “Looks like a sinus infection. Medicine awaiting pickup at your pharmacy. Take two tablets every six hours and have your thermometer call me in the morning.” Now that’s a prescription for wellness. Keith Ferrell is former editor of OMNI magazine and has written extensively on business and technical topics. 48 | SIGnature | Bluetooth.org http://www.bluetooth.org

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