Editor's Note

In this issue of Healthcare Enterprise, the underlying theme is one that's prevalent in many industries: the role of emerging technologies. But when the bottom line is the health of your patients--not just your business--these technologies become even more important.

We examine how some of the most innovative health-care companies make use of wireless technologies, identity-management applications, and business-intelligence and analytics software to become more efficient and improve patient care (see "A New View Of Data"). Brigham and Women's Hospital, Christus Spohn Hospital, Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, and San Antonio Community Hospital are among a growing number of health-care facilities giving PDAs, laptops, and wireless tools to doctors and hospital staff so they can access and enter patient information where it's most critical--at the point of care. To protect this precious patient data, many health-care providers are putting in place such technologies as proximity cards, biometrics, and USB tokens to authenticate medical personnel and physicians on networks and applications.

On the back end, health-care companies are building repositories of patient data that physicians can analyze to better hone treatments. This marks the first time that business-intelligence and data-analysis software is playing a role in the actual delivery of care.

Are emerging technologies making a difference at your company? Let us know.

Kathy Foley,
Managing editor
[email protected]