Saint Luke's-Shawnee Mission Health System has signed a $15 million agreement with telephone carrier Sprint [SPR] that will let the Kansas City-based hospital change the way it treats, evaluates and cares for its patients. The hospital system is working with Sprint Healthcare Systems Inc., a business unit of the carrier to develop an information network that will link doctors, nurses and patients.
Sprint will connect eight hospitals that cover a 150-mile radius in the Kansas City area.
Sprint will use a variety of technologies, including ISDN, dedicated T-1 lines, frame relay and asynchronous transfer mode, to connect the sites, said Chuck Bowen, vice president and general manager of Sprint Healthcare Systems Inc.
The initial network will give hospital employees easy access to patient information throughout the hospital system, which in turn is expected to let the hospital serve patients more quickly and efficiently.
Saint Luke's will also send full-motion compressed digital video between sites for consultations and patient diagnosis, Bowen said. (Sprint, 800/799-1000)