Streamline Data Collection With Wireless
The LetCo Companies is one of the largest wholesale suppliers of respiratory medications, supplies, and equipment for pharmacies in the United States. The company had developed a product called Instant Diagnostic Systems that enabled patients to perform sleep apnea testing at home, rather than spending $3,000 in a sleep clinic. The product involved a device the size of a cell phone connected to a finger sensor that performed oximetry (a noninvasive method that allows health- care providers to monitor the oxygenation of a patient’s blood) testing while the patient slept. Patients would then return the device to doctors, who would download the information collected. However, this solution posed problems: Patients got the cords of the device tangled, and didn’t return the devices to doctors in a timely manner. LetCo decided to improve the product with mobile technology. The company wanted to develop a Palm device-based solution that could decipher oximetry information and convey it wirelessly to doctors.
The LetCo Companies selected AppForge to complete the project, using AppForge Professional Services to build the application via the Crossfire mobile application development platform. “Ultimately we selected AppForge because of its speed of development, market knowledge, and reasonable costs,” said Mickey Letson, president of The LetCo Companies.
BLUETOOTH ENABLES MEDICAL DEVICE COMMUNICATION
With the use of Crossfire as the development platform, the AppForge Professional Services Team was able to alleviate the internal challenges The LetCo Companies faced, such as a tight implementation deadline, the need to easily migrate current customers to the new application, and adhering to and meeting Medicare requirements. With the new application, the sensor and Palm device used by the patient communicate via Bluetooth wireless technology. The Palm communicates via cellular networks to send the encrypted information directly to doctors, without the patient needing to take any action.
The new mobile application improved The LetCo Companies’ efficiency by 100%. “Our transition to the new version was seamless,” said Letson. “All of our deadlines were met.” Customer adoption of the new product is on the rise. The relationship between the two organizations is continuing to move forward. The LetCo Companies has already engaged with AppForge to build Instant Diagnostic Systems v2, as well as a new application for sleep apnea testing.