CDW-G Provides Tools to Help University Medical Schools Meet Patient Care Regulations and Improve Student Service

Indiana University School of Medicine and Ohio State UniversitySelect CDW-G to Deploy Personal Digital Assistant Programs for MedicalStudents

CDW Government, Inc. (CDW-G), a wholly owned subsidiary of CDWCorporation (NASDAQ:CDWC) and leading source of InformationTechnology (IT) solutions to governments and educators, todayannounced that Indiana University School of Medicine and Ohio StateUniversity have established personal digital assistant (PDA) programswith CDW-G for students, faculty and staff. The technology enables theschools to comply with industry standards, improve efficiency andenhance their students' learning environment.

"University medical schools face a variety of challenges - fromengaging their students and providing superior patient care, tocomplying with regulatory body mandates," said Chris Rother, groupvice president, CDW-G. "The technology solutions that CDW-G providedenable some of the nation's finest healthcare teaching institutions totrain the next generation of physicians in improved patient care."

Indiana University School of Medicine

The Indiana University School of Medicine (Indianapolis, Ind.) isthe second largest medical school in the country, with nine campusesthroughout the state and an enrollment of 1,159 students.

As handheld technology became increasingly important in highereducation and healthcare, Indiana University School of Medicine'sEducational Technology unit initiated an awareness campaign on campusand began to evaluate various hardware and software solutions -ultimately selecting the Palm Tungsten C through CDW-G andestablishing a requirement that all third- and fourth-year medicalstudents purchase a PDA with a Palm Operating System. This requirementwas largely driven by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education's(LCME) mandate for all medical school students to track clinicalencounters on their rotations to ensure quality of patient care. LCMEis the nationally recognized accrediting authority for medicaleducation programs in the United States and Canada.

The school recently moved to the Palm TX for its wirelessenvironment and flash memory capabilities. CDW-G developed a complete,cost-effective package for students - including a PDA, memory card andextended warranty. Indiana University School of Medicine students canorder the package directly from CDW-G via a customized Web page thatincludes detailed product information, as well as contact informationfor the CDW-G account manager.

The program kicked off in November 2005, and Indiana UniversitySchool of Medicine expects the majority of its medical school studentswill take advantage of the program. The Educational Technology unitconducts training programs for students on how to use software toextend the use of their PDAs. Educational Technology also maintainshot-synch stations in the Medical Library, as well as other buildings,to allow students to load data to a centralized server and coursemanagement system at any time.

"CDW-G has helped us establish a comprehensive PDA program thatenables us to more effectively manage program administration andsupport. The company has worked with Indiana University School ofMedicine to make the Palm program a success by streamlining thepurchasing process for our students and enabling them to enrich theirstudies with technology," said Amy Hatfield, MLS, Information SystemsLibrarian, Indiana University School of Medicine.

Ohio State University

The Ohio State University Medical Center (OSUMC) is dedicated to athreefold mission of patient care, teaching, and research. Based inColumbus, the school is part of the most comprehensive health sciencescampus in the U.S., including a college of medicine, five hospitals,two free-standing research institutes, and a network of more than 30community-based primary and specialty care facilities throughoutcentral Ohio.

Each year, more than 800 medical students attend what isconsistently ranked among the top academic medical schools fortraining physicians. They gain experience in a variety of clinicalsettings at hospitals and healthcare facilities throughout the state.Because of the students' need for mobility, OSUMC began a handheldcomputer initiative five years ago to provide medical students andresidents with the most up-to-date reference information wherever theywere, enabling them to make the best possible decisions. The schoolimplemented a PDA program to comply with regulations, minimize theamount of paper that students and physicians carried on their rounds,as well as to provide comprehensive reference materials and patientcare software at the touch of a button. Ohio State now has more than3,200 devices in circulation.

The university recently upgraded to the Palm TX, purchasing thehandhelds in bulk for third-year medical students, residents andpharmacy students from long-standing technology provider CDW-G. Themedical school went wireless last year; now students and doctors canaccess up-to-date patient data at any place and any time. The goal isto put the most up-to date information in the hands of users.Physicians, students and nurses look up readily available informationto make informed and better decisions. To date, OSUMC has purchasedapproximately 1,200 PDA devices from CDW-G; the school purchases about700 each year. OSUMC works closely with CDW-G to pre-load customapplications - including drug interaction software and the clinicalpatient data retrieval system - directly onto the PDAs, enabling usersto start using devices in the OSUMC environment right out of the boxwithout any configuration.

"Our PDA program has allowed us to provide our students andphysicians with leading-edge technology and software tools to helpthem both on clinical rotations and in the classroom," said WasifMalik, senior systems consultant, Ohio State University College ofMedicine. "CDW-G provides much of the technology products in placethroughout the Ohio State University system. They have beeninstrumental in our PDA program success."

About CDW-G

CDW Government, Inc. (CDW-G), a wholly owned subsidiary of CDWCorporation (NASDAQ:CDWC), a FORTUNE 500 company, is a trustedtechnology advisor and solutions provider to federal, state and localgovernment agencies, as well as to educational institutions at alllevels. CDW-G responds with a sense of urgency to customer technologyneeds, delivering best-in-class solutions from top-name brands such asCisco, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Sony, Symantec and Toshiba. CDW-G focuseson building strong customer relationships with its knowledgeableaccount managers and technical specialists who provide extensive pre-and post-sales support.

For more information about CDW-G product offerings, procurementoptions, services and solutions, call 1.800.863.4239, or visit theCDW-G Web site at CDWG.com.