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Doctors may now keep tab on the treatment details of patients while on the move.
Canadian handset-maker Research in Motion (RIM) – makers of BlackBerry – is looking forward to provide corporate healthcare solutions that enable remote access of patient records and clinical reports.
According to its Managing Director Sunil Dutt, RIM will eye new tie-ups through the healthcare applications (apps) developed on its platform/operating system. The apps, to be taken-up by hospitals only, will allow remote access of services on its smart-devices – tablets (branded as ‘Playbook’) and smartphones.
“We have already done some successful pilots and are in discussions with other hospitals,” Dutt told Business Line but did not elaborate on the corporates they were in discussions with.
BlackBerry’s current tie-ups in India include those with Nanavati Hospital in Mumbai, Narayana Netralaya in Bangalore and Max Healthcare in New Delhi.
“Discussions are also on with another private hospital in India,” a company official adds.
App Deployment
The application developed for Nanavati Hospital allows a cardiologist remote access to mobile electrocardiogram (ECG) pictures of a patient on his smartphone through an app on the BlackBerry platform.
In the case of Narayana Netralaya, the app enables doctors to access retina scan reports of infants on the ‘Playbook’. In the case of Max Healthcare, the app makes radiology and lab reports available to doctors.
It also has a tie-up that offers patient monitoring by medicinal practitioners through the Playbook.
Globally, some of the tie-ups include ones with Diagnostics Imaging Group at Hicksville (New York), Healpros Inc (New York) among others. Some of the other solutions include maintaining patient records and use of BlackBerry enterprise servers.
Impact on Sales
According to Kunal Bajaj, an independent telecom analyst, the decision to concentrate on the healthcare sector will not immediately reflect in terms of sale of devices.
“It’s a niche market that the company is looking to cater to and there won’t be much off-take in terms of device sales,” he said.
Bajaj maintains that RIM’s previous tie-ups with police had been pretty successful and investments in the healthcare sector are a part of the company’s road-map that would help them grow in the country.
“Typically, the health care sector is one where long-term investments work best. It might help the company grow,” he adds.
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