Dell To Offer Streak Bundled With Healthcare Applications

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Dell Streak Tablet

Dell has new mobile offering that combines its recently unveiled Android-based Streak mobile device with healthcare applications. The Streak integrated with clinical applications such as e-medical records further extends Dell's offering in the healthcare ecosystem, said Jamie Coffin, VP of Dell Healthcare and Life Sciences.

The tablet device -- currently available to consumers -- will be available in the fall from Dell bundled with healthcare application for clinical computing.

The offering will not only be targeted at on-the-go clinicians "to help keep everyone in the information loop about patients to avoid medical errors," but also to patients who could use the device in conjunction with Bluetooth-enabled medical devices for remote health monitoring.

For instance, Dell is working with a number of third-party health industry vendors, including one developing a wireless, Bluetooth enabled wristwatch-style blood pressure cuff, said Coffin.

The potential use of that medical product combined with Streak could allow patients with chronic conditions to take their blood pressure readings, and have the data transmitted to the Streak and/or their healthcare providers for remote monitoring.

Patient could also use the Streak device to log on to their web-based personal health records to track their medical conditions, said Scott Jenkins, Dell VP of healthcare solutions.

Streak delivers data via a Citrix environment and is HIPAA compliant, said Coffin. Patient health information doesn't reside on the device, but rather in a data center or hosting environment, said Coffin.

The device is "a client front end" to view data from EMR systems, or as "a conduit" to transmit data that gets integrated into health applications, he said.

The Streak, which features an on-board camera, is also available as a consumer device.

The 5-inch Streak weighs 220 grams and fits into medical lab coat pockets, a feature important to clinicians, said Jenkins.

The product -- without bundled healthcare applications is priced at $299 without a service contract from AT&T, and is priced at $549 with a two-year AT&T service contact, said Jenkins.