News
AvantGo to Deliver Health Information to Mobile Devices
AvantGo Inc. has established relationships with several healthcare companies, including McKessonHBOC, Catholic Healthcare West, Massachusetts General Hospital, US Surgical, Norton Healthcare, Handheldmed.com, Asimba.com and FitForAll.com, which are using AvantGo's software solutions to extend their Web-based corporate intranet and Internet information, and applications to handheld devices.
Hospitals, hospital and supply management companies, healthcare information technology companies, healthcare suppliers, value-added resellers and content providers are building solutions that rely on the scalability, manageability and security of AvantGo Enterprise Interactive and AvantGo.com to mobilize business systems and make critical information instantly accessible from remote locations.
"Our focus on the healthcare market has resulted in our putting a variety of business-critical applications and information, from patient records to medical journal abstracts, into the hands of health professionals," says Felix Lin, AvantGo's CEO.
Healthcare Leaders Rely on AvantGo Solutions Below are some examples of how healthcare companies are using AvantGo:
· McKessonHBOC is deploying AvantGo on Symbol Technologies handheld computers used by its pharmaceutical delivery drivers nationwide. Working with integrator Whittman-Hart Inc., McKessonHBOC will replace its paper-based delivery system. Drivers will synchronize their handheld devices with an AvantGo Server in distribution centers each day, receiving truck route and delivery information. When a container of healthcare supplies is delivered, the driver will scan the bar code on the container, capture an electronic signature on the handheld screen and resynchronize at the end of the day to update corporate records.
· Catholic Healthcare West (CHW) has teamed up with AvantGo to conduct risk assessment evaluations. The application can improve physicians' ability to practice "evidence-based medicine" by putting an objective, validated risk assessment method from the peer-reviewed medical literature at the doctors' fingertips. The application is presented in a decision tree format, allowing physicians to answer questions as they evaluate a patient, and to access the application at any time, without having to download it again. CHW believes that the AvantGo solution will help support physicians' clinical judgment.
· Massachusetts General Hospital is using AvantGo for a clinical application that allows clinicians to track patient information without having to log onto a PC. There are limited PCs on each hospital floor, but each clinician can have an inexpensive handheld device with them at all times. With AvantGo, the hospital is able to do all of its application development for the Web and make it available on a variety of mobile devices, allowing doctors' mobile devices to become an extension of the hospital's existing Web applications.
Additionally, neurologists at Massachusetts General Hospital are teaming up with Harvard Medical School and AvantGo to provide dynamic sources of medical education. When medical students rotate through the Neurology Service at Massachusetts General Hospital, they are faced with patients who have acute medical illnesses. Textbooks are often out of date and far too bulky to be carried in a busy hospital environment. Palm PDAs with AvantGo give medical students access to a "living textbook" that contains updated hypertext and reference illustrations, as well as dynamic information such as student quizzes, feedback forms and schedule information.
· Handheldmed.com is providing content to individuals through AvantGo.com. The company offers abstracts for medical journal articles, and is preparing to launch a new channel that features American Family Physician (AFP) abstracts. The site is devoted to clinical handheld computing news, reviews, and informatics in medicine. Handheldmed.com provides a forum specifically for users of Palm Computing and Microsoft Windows CE platforms.
Using AvantGo.com, today hundreds of thousands of individuals are accessing free, interactive and personalized content from on more than 300 optimized channels. AvantGo also spearheads the Mobile Application Link initiative, an open, industry standard for connecting mobile devices to server-based applications.
For more information, visit AvantGo's Web site at www.avantgo.com.