Frederick Memorial Hospital, one of the most comprehensive home health care systems in Maryland, knew that pairing the most reliable mobile computer with the best wireless broadband network would be a critical part of improving the quality of care offered by its home health clinicians.  The solution the hospital deployed was the Panasonic Toughbook T series laptop with embedded Verizon Wireless mobile broadband.

Recently, Frederick Memorial was placed in the top one percentile of hospitals nationwide for EMR adoption.  The hospital credits a large portion of this recognition to its Toughbook/Verizon Wireless solution, for its ability to easily collect and share standard information in the field.

Take a look at the video of Frederick Memorial’s mobility success story.

This is a modified version of the original post.

I strongly believe this is the year of embedded wireless devices, which makes for a very exciting time here at Panasonic.  Please take a few minutes to listen to this engaging conversation and watch the slides. Let us know your thoughts and we would love to answer any questions you may have, right here, on our blog.

Currently, all major U.S. wireless carriers offer 3G data access for mobile computers. Available using external PCMCIA cards, USB devices or as embedded (also called integrated) wireless modems, these offer very different experiences for both users and their IT managers.

The downside to external cards and USB-based modems is that they deliver reduced performance and reliability. First, users need to insert a device into their notebook—anytime a user is required to do something to their technology, a risk is introduced. Also, as an added on component, these cards are prone to loss, theft or damage; they become a drain on a device’s battery power; they don’t achieve the same rates of connection speed and throughput—all factors that reduce worker productivity and introduce cost-centers for IT.

While external modems are not optimized to work within a specific device, reducing their effectiveness in attaining and maintaining a network connection, embedded modules are engineered and tested to work as an integrated part of the notebook and designed to ensure optimal performance. This is especially important in fringe areas, which can be field-based or less obvious settings, such as meeting rooms or airport gates. It is also important to note that, as an integrated component, these modems are protected under the notebook warranty.

Recently, we partnered with Larstan Business Reports to develop a whitepaper that clearly outlines the benefits of embedded wireless broadband modems over external solutions. Take a minute and read through “The Business Case for Embedded Wireless Technologies in Mobile Enterprise Strategies.” In addition to outlining benefits of embedded modems, the whitepaper also includes in-depth, real-world usage scenarios that you might find beneficial.