US Air Force Medical Service Grants Shipcom - Healthcare Solutions Authority to Operate (ATO) under the Defense Information Assurance Accreditation and Certification Process (DIACAP)

HOUSTON, Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Shipcom, a leading global provider of enterprise and healthcare solutions, announced today they have been granted Authority to Operate under the DoD Information Assurance Accreditation and Certification Process. Shipcom's healthcare solutions have been deployed at the 81st Medical Group Hospital during a proof-of-concept project with the Air Force Surgeon General's office to improve clinical and business processes. Shipcom's solutions utilize Radiofrequency Identification (RFID) and additional Automated Identification & Data Collection (AIDC) technologies for applications including Asset Management, Patient Flow, Surgical Instrument/Tray Management and others. The ATO is enterprise wide across the Air Force Medical Service.

"During our project execution, Shipcom realized that the military's care system has many of the same challenges as the rest of the healthcare industry, including information technology application silos.  In the military this has a tendency to be compounded given the security requirements for our Armed Forces" said Scott Cobb, Senior VP Federal & Healthcare Systems at Shipcom.  "Our ability to meet the DIACAP requirements will allow us to connect and operate our solutions within the AF network and allow integration into DoD's healthcare systems."

Shipcom's AIDC project has encompassed several areas of the hospital, but the ability to track and manage mobile medical equipment and other assets is at the core.  Shipcom believes that Asset Management is a prerequisite for other applications as it provides an enterprise infrastructure for real time visibility that can be leveraged and integrated into additional solutions.  DMLSS (Defense Medical Logistics Standard Support) is the medical logistic system that provides a standard across the DoD to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of healthcare delivery.

DMLSS is currently developing a bidirectional interface to allow RFID Systems access to information and to the ability to update DMLSS with current location of assets.  Garry Duvall, DMLSS RFID Lead in the Defense Health Services Systems (DHSS) Program Management Office (PMO), states "We have been coordinating with industry leaders in the design of this interface to provide maximum benefits to DoD healthcare personnel.  However, each RFID system must obtain an ATO to use this interface. Shipcom is the first system to receive their ATO."

The two major initiatives within DoD today is supporting the war fighter and providing access to quality care. "Shipcom is committed to the DoD healthcare community as shown by our diligent efforts in obtaining the ATO through the very stringent and lengthy security process," reflects Abeezar Tyebji, President and CEO of Shipcom Wireless.   "Our project with the Air Force Surgeon's office has proven RFID can improve clinical processes, allowing improved care for the dedicated men and women in our armed services."

Shipcom is pleased to work with partners like San Diego-based Awarepoint to deliver new solutions to benefit our military health system.  Brad Weinert, President and CEO of Awarepoint comments "Awarepoint is excited to have been selected by Shipcom as their Real Time Location System (RTLS) technology partner. We are completely dedicated to providing RTLS in the acute care market.  Working loosely with Shipcom's solution suites, our joint partnership integrates Awarepoint's wireless ZigBee mesh network and patented location algorithms to Shipcom's military Healthcare applications."

About Shipcom

Shipcom provides identification and tracking solutions that include advanced and hybrid Auto-ID technologies (AIDC), designed to address the two key healthcare challenges of ensuring Patient Safety & increasing Operational Efficiency. Shipcom's x2 / Care suite of healthcare solutions is

designed on an adaptive framework enabling multiple technologies to integrate real-time data across a hospital's disparate infrastructure. Shipcom has more than eleven years experience in developing composite mobility and RFID applications for operational visibility, workflow simplification, real time dashboards, and process rules management for World-class enterprises. Shipcom focuses on providing real return on investment values that impact key business drivers and processes: costs, revenue, security, and customer satisfaction. Shipcom is headquartered in Houston, TX, with its regional offices in Raleigh, NC and Dubai.

Shipcom has satisfied customers in over 22 countries with hundreds of customer sites with real operational deployments. The company is comprised of experts in SAP, Oracle and other back-end IT System software, and various types of RFID, AIDC and Mobility applications.

About Keesler Medical Center

Keesler Air Force Base boasts one of the largest medical treatment facilities in the Air Force. Home to the 81st Medical Group, the Keesler Medical Center contains a 78-bed inpatient hospital, outpatient clinics, a clinical research laboratory and aeromedical facilities to serve Air Force,

Army, Navy and Coast Guard bases in the southeastern United States. Staffed by more than 1,300 people, the facility serves nearly 11,000 active duty personnel and 47,000 eligible beneficiaries in the Gulf Coast area. Its clinics see about 20,000 patients each month.

The medical center also trains medical and dental residents in seven specialties. Keesler's general surgery and internal medicine residency programs were reaccredited and restarted in the summer of 2006 following Hurricane Katrina. Keesler has restarted its three dental residency programs. Advanced Education in General Dentistry resumed in 2006, while the general practice residency and endodontics returned in 2007.

Keesler is also the Air Force's second largest mobility mission, deploying expeditionary medical support teams around the world. The Joint Commission fully accredited Keesler Medical Center in 2010. It is an ideal location for coordinated pilot projects.

About Awarepoint

Awarepoint's real-time location systems (RTLSs) include its real-time awareness platform, firmware, active RFID tags, sensors, and bridges. Awarepoint's technologies collect raw sensor data and transform that data into high-value positioning information that can be used to add location awareness to a variety of healthcare applications. Requiring no hard wiring, Awarepoint's "plug and track" ZigBee-based wireless sensor network is a fully managed service, including hardware, software, remote monitoring and maintenance. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California.

About ZigBee

ZigBee is the global wireless language connecting dramatically different devices to work together and enhance everyday life. The ZigBee Alliance is a non-profit association of more than 300 member companies driving development of ZigBee wireless technology.  The Alliance promotes world-wide adoption of ZigBee as the leading wirelessly networked, sensing and control standard for use in consumer electronics, energy, home, commercial and industrial areas. For more information, visit:  www.zigbee.org/.  

SOURCE Shipcom Wireless, Inc.