Article I was interviewed for back in September of 07.

1. Cellphones get the 'all clear' at some hospitals - USATODAY.com Page 1 of 2
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By Robert Davis, USA TODAY
Anyone who has been inside a hospital probably has been cut off from relatives and colleagues because of a common rule: no cellphones.
But some health care facilities are creating wireless networks to let patients, family members, physicians and staff members use their phones.
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The concern about the phones, hospital officials say, is that their signals could create electromagnetic interference with sensitive medical devices, such as
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ventilators or external pacemakers. Opinion is divided; some experts say the risk has been overblown.
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Some doctors even say cellphones promote better communication, which reduces medical errors. And people rely more heavily now on their wireless
devices to stay connected to work and family. What's this?
An increasing number of patients arrive with laptops and other means of communication and are frustrated if they cannot connect with the outside world, says Andrew Cooper,
information technology manager at the Zangmeister Center, an oncology and hematology clinic in Columbus, Ohio. It has installed a $70,000 antenna system for better cellphone
use.
The system puts the antenna closer to the cellphone by installing an antenna inside the medical facility instead of a mile or more away. That allows a cellphone to connect using a
lower signal strength.
The system is designed around the fact that cellphones boost signal strength to reach distant antennas, and medical devices are more likely to be affected by strong signals than
weak ones, says Howard Melamed, president and chief executive of CellAntenna Corp.
By putting the antenna inside the medical facility, the phone signals are reduced, and engineers can measure and better control the electromagnetic energy in-house.
The system even penetrates areas called quot;black zones,quot; such as the thick-walled radiology area.
quot;With cancer, you are in the clinic for hours,quot; Cooper says. quot;We are not just treating the patient, we are treating the supporting family. We are supporting them. If that means
spending additional dollars to allow them to have a cellphone or a laptop, that is what we need to do.quot;
Other hospitals using the CellAntenna system include Columbus Regional in Columbus, Ind., and Bethesda Memorial Hospital in Boynton Beach, Fla.
Still, most hospitals are still reluctant to allow cellphones. quot;The technology of cellphones is growing so fast that the cellphone of today and the cellphone of tomorrow might have
totally different effects on things,quot; says Rick Wade, a spokesman for the American Hospital Association. quot;Nobody has any idea of what effect iPod phones havequot; on medical devices.
quot;This is an evolving situation.quot;
Wade says most hospitals still restrict cellphone use in critical-care areas and around their most sensitive electronic devices: quot;Until they have scientific proof that these phones can
be used anywhere and everywhere, hospitals are going to restrict it in those areas most senstitive to patient safety.quot;
Many hospitals and clinics reevaluated their cellphone bans recently after a five-month study by the Mayo Clinic showed that the phones caused no noticeable interference with
equipment. The study, which appeared in the March issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, said bans should be reconsidered because of the inconvenience they cause for patients and
families who must leave care areas to use their cellphones.
The authors urged the Food and Drug Administration to provide guidance to the industry. An FDA spokeswoman says the agency recommends that hospitals test for electromagnetic
energy levels and follow published industry standards, which include coordinating electronic equipment use to keep transmission levels low.
Some doctors say banning cellphones puts patients at risk.
In a 2003 survey published last year in Anesthesia and Analgesia, anesthesiologists said cellphones help reduce medical errors by allowing timely communication.
quot;The most effective patient care is driven by timely communication,quot; Cooper says. Clinic doctors have a secured text-message system in addition to cellphones. quot;Our physicians and
our staff have to be able to communicate timely and effectively with each other.quot;
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2. Cellphones get the 'all clear' at some hospitals - USATODAY.com Page 2 of 2
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