Stonebridge: Cure For the Pain

The baby cam is one of the personalized features Dallas-based Stonebridge constructed for St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital in Houston. The technology allows users to see live video of their newborn child in the labor and delivery unit. But more, Stonebridge specializes in helping health-care organizations use the Internet to better manage and control information.

The health-care industry is Stonebridge's biggest customer pool, with nearly 40 percent of the solution provider's business coming from that vertical market. Mark Muenze, director of Stonebridge Healthcare Solutions, says the company started working heavily with the industry two years ago and has since completed work for clients such as HealthSouth and Blue Cross Blue Shield. "Our first few clients in the health-care vertical came to us initially, but then we saw the opportunity to build customized solutions for the market," Muenze says.

St. Luke's, for instance, allows patients to access personalized information on appointments, treatment and related health-care news on the hospital's Web site. Stonebridge has also built systems for other customers that allow physicians to exchange test results and laboratory reports.

"Health-care organizations are trying to [improve] patient services through the Internet, but they don't have the expertise to build a usable Web site," Muenze says. "We specialize in taking them from flat Web pages that do nothing to building channels of interactivity for patients and physicians."

While the health-care vertical has become one of the more popular and prolific markets for IT companies recently, Muenze says the industry poses serious challenges that require massive preparation and training to overcome. The health-care industry is traditionally very cost-minded and hasn't spent lavishly on IT. Another obstacle is bringing new technology to organizations that rely on outdated legacy systems and fax machines. "Integration can be a hefty task," Muenze says. "It really comes down to having experience with the old hospital systems."

Stonebridge primarily serves customers in the Southeastern and South Central United States, but if business continues to grow, it may start offering its tech medicine nationwide.