Wireless and mobile technologies have been instrumental in pushing care out to the edge of the health provider's network: reducing costs associated with treating patients in hospital. However they have also fragmented the healthcare IT market making it increasingly difficult for vendors to correctly position their products and identify key opportunities. This fragmentation also frustrates health providers in their search for the most appropriate technology to solve a particular problem.

The ‘101 Things To Do With A Mobile Phone In Healthcare’ report, published here, provides more than a catalogue of applications. The introduction describes the tipping point at which the market for wireless and mobile is regarded as a logical part of a healthcare IT solution. This is followed by eight sections describing key areas where mobile and wireless technologies make a significant impact on workflow and efficiency within the healthcare sector.

Before the list itself a section describing the new, technology based, healthcare model provides a framework within which this diverse range of wireless and mobile devices are deployed.

The list of existing and potential applications includes names of key vendors and sites using the technology in question. It is worth checking whether your application is on this list.