As wireless proliferates in healthcare, many
IT departments are looking for an enterprise solution that will better
manage RF technologies, improve performance, and
lower operating costs. Distributed antenna systems (DAS) from MobileAccess and others, promise some degree of enterprise management for RF systems.

Last week Health-IT World published another column of mine, this one dealing with DAS and one hospital's experience with MobileAccess. Check it out to learn how Northwestern Memorial did their vendor selection, and their experience with MobileAccess.

The jury's still out on DAS, and exactly which RF systems should full under a DAS umbrella. Some hospitals plan to put everything on their DAS, and others limit DAS use to supporting centralized transmitters like paging and cell phone transmitters.

If cell phone coverage is an issue at your hospital, be sure to read about Northwestern Memorial's successful approach. Who would have though carriers could be so accommodating?