If you failed to attend the Gulf Coast Technology Exposition and Summit in October you missed quite a bit.  You missed an address by former Congressman Joe Scarborough on the threat of cyber-terrorism.  You missed vendors such as Bit-Wizards and their prodigious technical capability and technical prowess.  You missed an early peek at the future of identification and access control with Gorrie-Regan’s biometric time and attendance solutions incorporating state of the art technology for monitoring access and security.  The show was a peek into the state of technology in our region.  One particular technology was notable for its ingenious solution for improving health care.  No, this isn’t a new drug or elaborate diagnostic or treatment device.  It stands to become more powerful than any one technology.  It harnesses the untold amount of information that health care facilities generate and puts it at the fingertips of physicians in real time – no matter where they are.

As with most innovations the cliché still applies, “necessity is the mother of invention.”  Two years ago, Dr. Huy Nguyen had an idea born out of the frustration many physicians have in getting lab results about their patients. Today, two Pensacola technology firms are testing mobile technology at Sacred Heart Hospital that can put lab results quickly into the hands of any physician using a handheld device.

Cogon System’s product, HospitalAnywhere Ó integrates a PalmÔ device with the hospital information systems and brings information management functions to the “moment of care.”  It allows caregivers to access, formulate, and transmit clinical data whether the “moment of care” is at the bedside or in the hospital hallway.  The more highly efficient management of information allows health care institutions to increase the quality and cost-efficiency of care.  The scenario is as straight forward as the physician coming into a patient’s room and getting real-time lab information from the Palm in his lab pocket.

Dr. Nguyen founded Cogon Systems, LLC last year along with David Hsu, an electrical engineer and computer programmer, and Dale Lehmann, a retired physician executive. Cogon then partnered with Techsoft, Inc. of Pensacola on the project to connect physicians to electronic medical test results – without going to a nurse or experiencing the delay of finding the patient’s chart in the hospital.

“We are on the front line of a race to bring mobile data management into health care,” Dr. Nguyen said. “Currently, about 30-40 percent of doctors use handheld devices simply as digital organizers and electronic medical references. Our software, HospitalAnywhereÓ, will expand the capabilities of handhelds so that care providers can instantly retrieve data such as lab results and eventually execute electronic orders. We want to provide mobile technology that allows caregivers to use their time more efficiently.”

“Many physicians spend a good part of their work day moving between buildings, between their offices and hospitals. Our software allows physicians immediate access to crucial data without being tied to a desktop computer or telephone.  Working with Sacred Heart we’re helping to bring 21^st century technology to a 21^st century hospital.”

“The current project at Sacred Heart is nationally innovative, and we are proud of the fact that the project is being developed here in Pensacola, “ said Bob David, the Technical Director at Techsoft, Inc.

Dr. Nguyen addressed the delicate issue of patient privacy and sensitive information.  He stated that their system conforms to the guidelines and regulations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act governs patient privacy.

Dr. Nguyen’s background begins in 1968 when he was born in Saigon, Vietnam.  He immigrated to the United States in 1975 and attended the University of Chicago where he earned his degree in Biology/Chemistry and his Doctor of Medicine degree.  He was a surgical intern at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland before becoming a General Medical Officer with the United States Navy.  Addition to his position as CEO of Cogon Systems LLC he is a board-certified Family Practitioner at NAS Pensacola. Dr. Nguyen’s wife, Barbara Henselmann, is a German physician.

The convergence of innovative solutions in information technology with healthcare systems is a welcome one.  Ensuring quality health care and keeping costs down dictate that innovative approaches such as HospitalAnywhereÓ manage the information caregivers depend on.