Regarding Joseph Conn's article One vendor at the core:
The obvious way to avoid the "one vendor takes all syndrome" is standards. In the beginning of networking, we had a Tower of Babel. Now, Ethernet and Internet protocols allow virtually free transfer of hideously complex data mixes. In my end of medical devices, we have the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine, or DICOM, standard.
Novell or Microsoft -- or for that matter, LANtastic -- would have loved an interconnection world with ignored standards, where marketing clout counted more than technical prowess and actual performance. If we in the health business allow single vendor solutions, we deserve a $25,000 cost per physician when the folks already have 3-gig computers and gigabit networks costing $3,000.
Tom Mariner
Vice president, software and IPQuantum Medical ImagingRonkonkoma, N.Y.To submit a letter to YOUR VIEWS, click here . Please include your name, title and hometown.
