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Profile: Long-Distance Health Care

American TeleCare, an Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based company that sells hardware and software enabling patients to consult with doctors and clinicians from their homes, recently was looking for new PCs to offer to clients. American TeleCare sets up computers for both clinicians and patients that allow the two to videoconference using phone lines and video cameras. Various pieces of medical equipment can be attached to the patient's system to monitor stats such as blood pressure, pulse, and glucose levels. The system then sends the data to the clinician.

According to Mark Voorhees, the company's purchasing manager, it was important for clients to have PCs requiring little setup or maintenance. Furthermore, customers needed large monitors that pivot to allow a clinician to view the patient.

Voorhees says the company was satisfied enough with the previous performance of Gateway's Profile 4 that it decided to offer the all-in-one model's latest incarnation, the Profile 5. Among the PC's merits, Voorhees points to its "easy setup and reasonable price for both our company and the clients."

Voorhees finds that the all-in-one system provides a sleek, space-saving box to house American TeleCare's patient-monitoring software. Although expansion is severely limited in the Profile 5, Voorhees asserts it's not a problem for his clients, who normally don't need to open up the system to perform upgrades. The Profile 5 "fits our applications very well," says Voorhees, "and [Gateway has] strong customer support for small businesses."

Roy Santos is a freelance technology writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area.