elp min- imize long-term complications, such as damage to the eyes, nerves, and kidneys. "Nutrition is of critical importance for certain patients," says Bernard d'Oriano, managing director of Fichier Selection Informatique, the French company that's leading the project. Careful nutrition monitoring is also crucial because of Europe's rapidly aging population. "Elderly people can become malnourished very quickly, even if they are still eating, and can become criti- cally ill within the space of three weeks," notes d'Oriano. Using the new soft- ware, a doctor could alert the hospital whenever they suspect a patient is in danger, and the hospital could help monitor the person's diet. A companion software package allows doctors to send prescription orders electronically. "The doctor at the patient's bedside enters the prescription onto a laptop or a PDA and sends it via the Internet directly to the hospital's in- house pharmacy," explains Philippe Corteil, managing director of the venture's Belgian partner, Medical Business Channel. The pharmacy can then instantly dispense the medicine and keep an accurate account of both what is going to the patient and the stock remaining in the pharmacy. Simultaneously, the soft- ware enables the prescribing doctor to see what other pharmaceuticals have been prescribed for the patient and to be alerted if there is a potential medi- cine conflict. For d'Oriano, joining the EUREKA project was advantageous in several ways. "Above all, it brought me the means-a loan as well as a Belgian tech- nical partner with whom we were able to work-and a certain reputation and recognition," he says. 1.11.3 Monitoring on the Road In California's Santa Cruz County, all of the ambulances have been equipped with cardiac monitors that send vital data directly by mobile phone to the emergency department of the closest receiving hospital. The system has been created to test a new strategy, devised by University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) researchers, that aims to speed treatment for heart attac