FEATURE/Versatile, Portable Compaq Tablet PC Aids Hospitals and Healthcare Providers; From Accessing Medical Info to Developing Medical Presentations, the Tablet PC is Catching On

Business Wire, Feb 10, 2003

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SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 10, 2003

Barely 90 days old in the marketplace, the innovative Compaq TC 1000 Tablet PC from HP (NYSE:HPQ) is catching the attention of healthcare IT professionals and physicians from Florida to California who are looking to the future of healthcare.

About the size of a standard sheet of paper, less than one-inch thick and weighing in at only three pounds, the Compaq Tablet PC is gaining acceptance because of its portability, versatility and ability to function beyond the traditional range of PC applications.

"Healthcare professionals want technology that saves them time, money, makes their life easier and fits the way they work, not the other way around," said Ken Jarvis, director, healthcare solutions group, HP Enterprise Systems Group. "The TC1000 is the most versatile full-function Tablet PC on the market. It is a technology that is a great fit for the workflow in the healthcare environment."

The TC1000 can function as a portable unit complete with its own retractable keyboard. Or, it can function as a traditional desktop PC by placing it in its docking station and attaching an external keyboard, mouse and monitor. When it was introduced, the unit's versatility quickly caught the attention of the IT staff at Florida Hospital in Orlando.

"Physicians need to move freely through the hospital, quickly and easily retrieving patient records and images from the main system and entering new data into the system as necessary," said Steve Deutchman, director of applications, architecture and integration at the hospital. "The fact that the Compaq Tablet PC is wireless, can function with or without a traditional keyboard and mouse, and can accept, store and recall handwritten documents, gives it tremendous potential in a hospital setting."

Currently, 10 units are being prepared for distribution to physicians who will use them in a pilot project in the hospital. The potential is to have 500 of the hospital's 2,000 affiliated physicians outfitted and using the units in their normal routine in the near future, moving toward 100 percent adoption over time.

The TC1000 has become quite helpful in the patient education efforts, according to Dr. John Gilbert of Fullerton, Calif., even though he says he is still learning the range of capabilities of the unit.

"I often give lectures on diabetes and disease management," said Dr. Gilbert, an endocrinologist and internal medicine specialist. "Using the mouse-pen to prepare the slides for my presentations is relaxing and natural. In fact, I often develop my presentations while sitting in my easy chair at home or lounging in my office."

The potential that Dr. Gilbert sees for the unit has him proposing that his practice group adopt the TC1000 as a part of a centralized digital charting system. He says doing so could increase physician productivity and avoid duplications that ultimately cost patients money. The Tablet PC has great potential to improve communications between healthcare providers and their patients.

"People are visual and respond better to something they can see," said Dr. Gilbert. "With this unit I could quickly and easily bring graphs, charts and medical images into the examination room for the patient to view. That capability can go a long way in getting the desired response from the patient."

Responding to the demand for flexibility and mobility in the medical environment that has been chronicled by the acceptance of the HP iPAQ Pocket PC, developers from several companies are already at work on promising new healthcare applications for the Tablet PC.

The TC1000 unit features a Transmeta Crusoe TM5800 1.0-GHz processor; a 10.4 inch TFT display that permits wide-angle viewing; hardened cover glass; NVIDIA GeForce2 Go 100 high-resolution graphics; built-in 802.11b wireless LAN capabilities; up to a 60 GB SMART hard drive; and USB 2.0 connectivity. The TC1000 supports Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Tablet PC Edition, a superset of Windows XP Professional.

"HP continues to deliver tremendous innovation in mobility solutions with the TC1000 Tablet PC," said David Lubinski, general manager, healthcare, Microsoft. "This clearly demonstrates the value of the partnership of Microsoft and HP in improving productivity, safety and quality in healthcare."

About HP

HP is a leading global provider of products, technologies, solutions and services to consumers and businesses. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing. HP completed its acquisition of Compaq Computer Corporation on May 3, 2002. More information about HP is available at http://www.hp.com.

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