PatientKeeper Offers Innovative Solution to Medication Errors Using Symbol Devices
Widely-Used Mobile Platform Incorporates Bar Code Scanning to Save Lives
Boston, MA, August 28, 2001 - PatientKeeper today announced an agreement with Symbol Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: SBL) that will result in the integration of bar code scanning capabilities into PatientKeeper Mobilizer, PatientKeeper's open mobile platform for healthcare. Bar code scanning will be an alternative data input device for applications developed for the PatientKeeper Mobilizer platform.
The incorporation of bar code scanning capability in handhelds will increase the speed and accuracy of data capture by leveraging one- and two-dimensional bar code labels currently in use throughout healthcare institutions. Symbol Technologies' bar code scanning libraries will be incorporated in the Mobilizer Software Development Kits (SDKs) that provide application developers with all of the tools necessary to build handheld applications for healthcare.
"The PatientKeeper Mobilizer platform allows multiple, independently authored applications to be developed and integrated on a single handheld," says Stephen Hau, founder and vice president of platform for PatientKeeper. "By making Symbol Technologies bar code scanning APIs available as part of our SDKs, our developer community can deploy handheld solutions that use bar code readers with relative ease."
Symbol's bar code technology immediately identifies a number of facts about patients that otherwise could have taken considerable time to resolve, slowing the delivery of treatment. Symbol's bar code technology also ensures accuracy, which reduces errors and saves lives.
"Bar codes are used extensively in hospitals throughout America, from patient wristbands to automatic dispensing and recording prescriptions," says Scott Cobb, Vice President of Vertical Markets at Symbol Technologies. "Integrating bar code data capture technology into PatientKeeper's Mobilizer platform facilitates the development of applications that enable care givers using our portable handheld devices with a critical tool for reducing medical errors - simply by capturing the bar code and verifying the information at the point of care."
Symbol Technologies, Inc.
Symbol Technologies, Inc., winner of the National Medal of Technology, is a global leader in mobile data transaction systems, providing innovative customer solutions based on wireless local area networking for data and voice, application-specific mobile computing and bar code data capture. Symbol's wireless information appliances connect the physical world of people on the move, packages, paper and shipping pallets, to information systems and the Internet. Today, some 10 million Symbol bar code scanners, mobile computers and wireless LANs are utilized worldwide in markets ranging from retailing to transportation and distribution logistics, manufacturing, parcel and postal delivery, government, healthcare and education. Symbol's systems and products are used to increase productivity from the factory floor to the retail store, to the enterprise and out to the home. Information about Symbol is available at www.symbol.com.
About PatientKeeper
PatientKeeper, Inc. utilizes an open, mobile platform to empower healthcare providers to capitalize on the potential of mobile technology to save lives, time, and money. PatientKeeper integrates disparate mobile applications, disparate mobile devices, disparate mobile initiatives, and disparate hospital information systems. PatientKeeper is currently used by leading hospitals, premier HIS companies, and over 45,000 clinicians. PatientKeeper is committed to an open architecture and universal platform for mobile healthcare computing, enabling independently authored applications to be integrated seamlessly on one handheld device. PatientKeeper offers a range of mobile computing solutions including PatientKeeper Personal; ChargeKeeper², for capturing billing; and LabKeeper², for reviewing lab results. PatientKeeper's strategic partners include Cerner Corporation (NASDAQ: CERN), IBM (NYSE: IBM), Certicom (NASDAQ: CERT; TSE: CIC) and Symbol Technologies (NYSE: SBL). PatientKeeper, Inc. is a privately held company. To learn more about PatientKeeper, please visit the company's Web site at www.patientkeeper.com.
Contact
Stephen S. Hau
PatientKeeper
(617) 987-0304
E-mail
Jonathan Bloom
ARiA Marketing
(617) 332-9999 ext 213
E-mail