Wireless networking with a PDA: the Ward-In-Hand project

Description

The paper briefly describes Ward-In-Hand, a project aiming to support the day-by-day activities of doctors and nurses within an hospital ward by providing a tool for workgroup collaboration and wireless access to the patient's clinical records. The project, which is at present experiencing its first prototype, is based on accessing the information system from the patients bedside, with a wireless connection through a PDA client. Ward-In-Hand is not intended to replace or compete with current Hospital Legacy Systems, it is rather meant to complement them. It exchanges information with existing tools, updates data in real time and makes it available to doctors and nurses adding a new dimension to capabilities currently available in hospital information systems: mobility and ubiquitous computing

Additional details